Miss Teen USA Competition Trades In Swimsuits For Activewear
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Politics and Activism

Miss Teen USA Competition Trades In Swimsuits For Activewear

A Small Step In Dismantling Society's Impossible Body Standards

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Miss Teen USA Competition Trades In Swimsuits For Activewear
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"The Beauty Myth," as described by Naomi Wolf in her novel The Beauty Myth is "an obsession with physical perfection that traps the modern woman in an endless spiral of hope, self-consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society's impossible definition of 'the flawless beauty.'"

The media is constantly clogged with real life examples of The Beauty Myth: advertisements for wrinkle, cellulite, and stretch mark creams, airbrushed and photoshopped images online and printed in magazines, and many many others. Beauty standards and body shaming seem inescapable in this society, especially for dancers, models, actresses, athletes, TV personals, beauty queens, and other activities and careers that scrutinize your body even more intensely than the regular body shaming suffocation everyday women have to go through.

Recently Miss Teen USA has announced that they will be eliminating the swimsuit portion of the competition and replacing it with activewear. The change will officially happen at the 2016 Miss Teen USA Pageant on July 30th right here in Las Vegas.

There are different opinions surrounding this change. Paula Shugart, the president of the Miss Universe Organization, said this week in a letter to state directors that, "our hope is that this decision will help all of Miss Teen USA's fans recognize these young women for the strong, inspiring individuals they are."

Former Miss Virginia and the winner of Miss America's swimsuit competition in 2003, Nancy Redd, said, "This [change] is focusing on what bodies can do, not just what they look like."

Former pageant girl and writer for "xojane," Tamara White, has what she refers to as an "unpopular opinion" about the change. She explains that while she supports it, she wants to be clear that, "The swimsuit competition was not about being sexy or objectifying competitors, as some seem to think...After all, teenage girls wear swimsuits every day in America. Many of them are far more revealing than the pageant contestants' suits."

While I was a dancer for twelve years and understand the Beauty Myth as it relates to that from firsthand experience, I have never competed in a pageant. So I interviewed Sabrina Singh, who has been competing in pageants since she was sixteen. She's competed in two local and two state pageants as a Teen in Nevada, and one local and one state pageant as a Miss in Indiana, and is the reigning Miss Collegiate North.

The first thing I learned was that the Miss America and Miss USA/Miss Universe pageants are two separate organizations. Miss America's teen pageant has already been using fitness wear in the place of swimsuits, and that's what Singh competed in as a teen.

She explained to me that this is because the Miss USA pageants are modeling based and have prizes like modeling contracts for the winners, while Miss America pageants are scholarship based and have prizes like scholarships. The Miss America pageants even refer to their swimsuit portion as "Lifestyle and Fitness" for both its Teen and Miss competitions.

"Fitness wear achieves the same purpose, without making thirteen year olds walk across stage in a swimsuit," Singh said.

And while as a Miss she never felt uncomfortable walking around stage in a swimsuit, Singh understands how audience members, especially those who are young girls, can get unrealistic body standards from pageants.

"[The swimsuit portion] made me feel confident and empowered," Singh said. "However, from an audience standpoint in the Miss USA pageants, where they want tall, thin girls, it can be unhealthy for young girls to watch that. Fitness wear covers your body more so there isn't as much pressure to be incredibly skinny."

I asked her about author Tamara White's quote from earlier in the article regarding how teenage girls wear swimsuits everyday, so why should it be a problem in pageants.

"A swimsuit is a swimsuit, however when you're on a beach you're not representing an organization, you're not being judged. The venue and situation is completely different," Singh explained.

My greatest worry about pageants has always been about body positivity. Watching "Toddlers In Tiaras," while like any other reality TV show is dramatized, made me fear that all of those young girls would grow up to be hypercritical of their own bodies, which in a society already obsessed about women's appearances, is the farthest thing from healthy. Singh, however, doesn't think that the swimsuit portion contributes more to "The Beauty Myth" than the evening gown portion, or the pageant as a whole. She believes that just like anything else, you have to go into it with the right mindset. It can be a positive or a negative experience.

While "The Beauty Myth" technically falls under the large umbrella of feminism, in this situation they can discuss different concerns. In the press release issued by Paula Shugart, she explains that "in a society that increasingly prioritizes feminism and equality, watching women parade across a stage in bikinis can feel outdated.”

Outdated is one of the nicest ways to put it. Sure, there are pageants for men, but it isn't the same. Men have never faced the systemic objectification that women have for centuries. But Singh made an excellent point.

"The problem people have isn't with the swimsuits," she said. "But rather with pageants in general. That gets away from the swimsuits versus fitness wear debate and ends up with people trying to throw their opinions about pageants in general, when they don’t apply to the issue at hand."

Singh believes that competing in pageants has made her a better person. She has done more community service because of the opportunities pageants have opened up, she began eating healthier and taking better care of her body, she has focused more on her grades, and has begun practicing the piano again and developing a stronger work ethic because of it.

"There's so much more to it. Doing service and being a better version of yourself can never be outdated," Singh said.

The decision to remove swimsuits from the Miss Teen USA pageants is definitely a positive one. Young girls have enough pressure on them to be beautiful and thin generally, and having one less outlet to fulfill society's unreachable standards is not something I see as a problem.

It's important to remember that the Teen competitions aren't televised, but the Miss competitions are. That means that even though the Miss competitors may be comfortable in their swimsuits, they still have potential to give young girls unrealistic expectations about their bodies.

"The Beauty Myth" is everywhere, and banning swimsuits in beauty pageants won't correct all of it, but any steps taken in the right direction cannot go unnoticed. For that, I am grateful.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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