This past week, Miss Universe took place, and besides the fact it broke the internet, because Steve Harvey named the wrong Miss Universe, there is much more behind the actual concept of the event. Beauty Pageants have been around as long as the early 1900s. Of course things have changed, but the damage that it brings has not.
Beauty pageants are measuring women for their ability to represent their leadership in their communities, but the women who participate are being oversexualized. There is a bathing suit portion, in which the women are solely being looked at for their bodies. There are also requirements to be in a beauty pageant: the women have to have a talented, have a well shaped body figure, and a face to represent their people. If beauty pageants wanted to be more real, they would include women's beauty from all spectrums. Who says someone is more beautiful than someone else? As humans, how are we capable of judging someone on looks?
These pageants are teaching young girls the wrong things, such as their reliance on their looks. Sure, their beauty can get them further into the competition than other people, but they also have to have some substance behind their appearance. Beauty pageants are showing young girls that all people care about is what they look like outside versus what they look like inside. If a girl enters the competition and then loses midway, they will go the rest of their time thinking they were not enough. Which then leads to the increase of insecurities and even some mental health problems.
They are degrading, and the women who participate are being sexualized by the audience. As the women go parading around the show, people at home are watching them just to look at their bodies because it is supposed to be part of our culture. Going back to the influence beauty pageants has on women, little girls now have beauty pageants too. The show "Toddlers and Tiaras" is starting an early sexualization of little girls. They are being raised into a society that is telling them they have to appear a certain way to be beautiful. Also ,there is a lot of stress put on by these pageant families who want their little girl to win, and if she does not, then she did not make it. We have to be careful about raising the future generations and let them know their appearance is not the only thing that matters. Education and substance is what is going to get you where you want.
Pageants like Miss Universe and many others are slowly changing based on the ideas of modern civilization. As a society, we have to enforce a safe environment in which people can feel comfortable and appreciate their natural bodies.
