Like most people in their late teens and early twenties, there aren't many things I enjoy more than plopping myself on the couch with a cozy blanket and a big bowl of buttery, salty popcorn and gluing my eyeballs to a television. In fact, I almost gasp in disbelief when I hear the phrase, "I don't have time to watch TV!", being uttered by the mouth of one of my contemporaries. Nonetheless, this week I found myself at the mercy of the Miss USA 2016 pageant. As a girl who did not have even a sliver of interest in anything remotely beauty-queenish at any point in her life (for the rare exception of TLC's hauntingly entertaining Toddlers and Tiaras and the Sandra Bullock classic Miss Congeniality) , my immediate reaction was click! But I was bored and maybe humoring myself a little bit and decided to give it a shot. Plus, I knew the Backstreet Boys were making an appearance at some point of another, and my 90s child heart just couldn't resist.
Within seconds, my television screen filled with 51 strikingly gorgeous young women. With sculpted bodies, voluptuous hair, and frustratingly white teeth, I began to realize it wasn't really a secret why this competition had such a large audience. These women were flawless. But regardless of how radiant these women were, my attention became focused on another issue lying below the surface of perfectly matched foundation and expertly-glossed lipstick: Was this how Miss USA was going to be judged? On looks and looks alone?
Yes, I was very much aware that there was that infamously entertaining question and answer round readily ahead. However, even watching these contestants introduce themselves to the audience, live and at home, it was clear that there wasn't as much to know of them as there was to see of them. For each girl, a small blurb was announced, most consisting of that state's chances of winning the pageant based on previous years. I think I could count on one, or maybe two, hand(s) the number of women that were given some sort of background on who they were or what they stood for. Now, this is obviously not the contestants' fault, or the producers' fault really. No, it is society's fault.
Granted, these women have all gotten to where they are for very good reasons. Not only are they intelligent, charitable, and hard-working, but they also happen to be stunning and freakishly perfect in measurement. The only problem is that it is very hard to see all of those qualities when only the top 15 contestants get to really share what give them their inner beauty. So, are we supposed to just guess about the others? 15 out of 51 (52 if you saw the second half of the pageant) are not good odds. Ever.
What bothered me even more about this program was the swimsuit round. In a time where self-confidence in young women is at an all-time low, there is still a portion of this competition where beautiful women parade around in barely-there bikinis and score points. In fact, I realized that this swimsuit round is before the question and answer round, which is kind of like saying we'd like to see you practically naked and how confidently you can walk around in front of us that way before we hear you speak about important things. One contestant was even described as having a smaller figure from the rest of the women, but her "confident attitude" helped her stand out. Quite honestly, why can't she just be confident in her body? Why does she need to have a different attitude to stand out from her competitors? There are millions of petite women in the US, as well as many other shapes and sizes for that matter. It's 2016. We don't need this.
You see, it could be argued that these pageants are somewhat of a step back for women. Now, I wouldn't say I'm much of a feminist or a die-hard women's rights activist. If I am, I'm probably a really pathetic excuse for one. But, I'd say my views stand with actress Sophia Bush's comments in this interview with the Huffington Post. As long as I have the same opportunities and rights as my male counterpart, I'm a happy girl. However, I don't think you really need to be a feminist to agree that it's time that we give beauty pageants a makeover of their own. Because if you throw away the dazzling couture and gallons of aerosol hairspray, you're looking at a modern-day, well, beauty pageant, in the most shallow sense of the word.
That being said, I found myself blubbering like a baby when Deshauna Barber took home the crown. Yes, Miss District of Colombia became my odds-on favorite throughout my roller coaster ride of emotions while watching this year's pageant. Quite honestly, her powerful answer to the question she was thrown regarding the decision to allow women into US army combat opportunities is where I believe her win was sealed. I was more than pleased to see a strong, intelligent veteran, who also happened to be enviously beautiful, win the title of Miss USA.
Overall, my experience of watching the Miss USA 2016 pageant reminded me how important it is for society to start emphasize one resounding message: It's time for our society to stop appropriating the idea of a blind beauty contest, focusing more closely on how Miss USA looks in a two-piece rather than how she would help stop global warming. Because the most important kind of beauty is that which is brought out in real people who initiate real change in the world, who make real differences. Now, that is a beauty pageant that I'd like to see.
And here's a Miss Congeniality GIF because 'tis the season.
