The History of Beauty Pageants

Beauty pageants are one of the most controversial competitions out there. Through this series of articles, we will follow the history of beauty pageants and explore the ways feminism plays a role. From the sexualization of children seen on TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras, and the bathing suit categories found in many pageants, to the women using pageants to bring up important social issues, we will cover it all, starting from the very beginning.

Looking at and being attracted to more “beautiful” people is biologically natural. All animals are programmed to see who will be the best fit in order to create healthy offspring. The idea of beauty contests dates back all the way to Greek mythology, when Alexandros picked the most beautiful goddess Aphrodite over both Hera and Athena. But even in Ancient Greece, they did not hold beauty pageants for women. Throughout history people valued the beauty and innocence of women, but never had compared women against each other, like they do in beauty pageants. According to the article, “Beauty Pageant Origins and Culture”, “The first truly modern beauty contest, involving the display of women's faces and figures before judges, can be traced to one of America's greatest showmen, Phineas T. Barnum” (“Beauty Pageant Origins and Culture”). P.T. Barnum had held many different competitions and even held one that judged babies. His beauty contest was not as successful as his competition for the babies. This was because respectable ladies deemed it inappropriate for them to show off their bodies for the enjoyment of the public.

It was not until the late 1800s when beauty competitions and pageants rose in popularity, the first known pageant in the US was held at a resort in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The first Miss America Pageant was held in 1921, and It took place over Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia and was called the “Inner-city Beauties”. It wasn’t called Miss America until newspapers wrote about the contest and came up with the name. Margret Gorman was the first ever Miss America, and “[she] openhearted smile and youthful exuberance had won over the crowd and judges” (“Beauty Pageant Origins and Culture”). She portrayed the innocence and youth that was favored by American society. Gorman possessed the “youthful” and joyous qualities that were expected of young women. Slowly more and more resorts across America started holding pageants.

Years following the first Miss America Pageant, smaller pageants began and popularity rose. In order to keep the interests of the public, the girls and women participating were not allowed to wear makeup. The pageants stressed the importance of youth, innocence, and virtue; society also valued these qualities in women. The article, Beauty Pageants Origins and Culture, states, “To avoid the charges of immorality from conservative protesters appalled by the idea of young women parading themselves in public, organizers presented the contestants as natural and unsophisticated, stressing their youth and wholesomeness”. And if the women did wear makeup they would be labeled as prostitutes, because no respectable lady would show off their bodies like that. It was not until the rise of cosmetic companies in the 1940s-50s when women started wearing more dramatic makeup to pageants.

As pageants became more popular they began to spread across seas, but with popularity came more controversy. Many people questioned what true beauty was. People continued to criticize the women, and called them “artificial” and “manipulators”. The spread of the pageants across America and other countries brought a sense of nationalism with the women, but at what cost? They idealized femininity for little girls to look up to, and set standards for beauty in women. Not only did pageants push basic beauty ideas on girls but they were racist views harming people of color. In A Look Back at the Sexist, Racist History of Beauty Pageants, King said “ African Americans were first featured in the 1923 pageant — during a dance performance where they played slaves”. And it was not until 1871, 63 years after the first pageant, a black woman was crowned. Her name was Vanessa Williams, but unfortunately her reign was short. Miss America Took her title away after her photos were wrongfully printed in a pornographic magazine. For many years, racist ideals prevented black women from winning. Tired of poor treatment in the pageant community, many feminists and black women protested the Miss America Pageant. In defiance they proceeded to hold their own pageant exclusively for black girls on the same weekend of the Miss America Pageant.

As decades passed, the pageants evolved. We will cover both the ups and downs throughout pageants. In the next editions, we will answer the questions: are pageants female empowerment or sexist and exploitation, have they become more diverse, and how can pageants be used for good? In the next part of this series, I will discuss the exploitative nature and history of pageants for children.

Bibliography

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Reid, Rebecca. “No Matter How Diverse Beauty Pageants Become, They Are Still Sexist.” Grazia, 12 October 2019, https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/in-the-news/miss-universe-zozibini-tunzi/. Accessed 13 January 2021.

“These beauty queens gave out feminist facts instead of their body sizes.” BBC, BBC, 31 January 2019, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/71ec574e-b71d-437f-8eb0-0e850cdd5459. Accessed 13 January 2021.

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