Proponents of “beauty pageants” like Miss America, Miss USA, Junior Miss, etc. will sometimes bristle at the notion that the pageant system objectifies women.  More often they attempt to convince skeptics that the contests are all about scholarships.

While it is true that winners do receive generous educational scholarships and often travel extensively in the course of their official duties promoting any number of “good causes” overall I would have to say that major benefits to women as a result of beauty pageants are probably relics of the past.

 The Miss America pageant actually began as a gimmick to keep tourists in Atlantic City past Labor Day back.  With no mention of scholarships, talent or academic qualifications it seems those early pageants were blatantly exploitive by today’s standards; the major qualifications in the early days being a sparkling personality and the ability to look beautiful in a bathing suit.

Another issue that has dogged the pageant world throughout much of its history has been the shocking lack of diversity, especially in the early days.  1945 Miss America, Bess Myerson, the first and so far only, Jewish American woman to be crowned, faced shameful encounters with anti-Semitism  during her reign.

Similarly, until 1970 the Miss America pageant was a strictly “whites only” affair with the rules state only that the contestant be a “natural born female in good health and moral character,” (which leads me to wonder why it is always white people and not disabled transsexuals who are always claiming that the Miss Black America contest is “discriminatory” but that’s a topic for another day).

In the 1920s, when “beauty pageants” began, opportunities for women were severely limited.  When Margaret Gorman was crowned the first “Miss America” in 1921, women had only just gotten the vote.  Young women who did manage to attend college in those days were generally limited in their choice of professions:  nursing, teaching, or social work. There was no Title IX legislation guaranteeing equal educational opportunities for women and no athletic scholarships for sports-minded young women.  In the 1920s the best chance for “upward mobility” for many young women rested with their ability to be pretty and popular for the purposes of attracting a well situated husband.

But as opportunities for women have grown the usefulness of the pageant system has greatly diminished.  If our daughters show prowess at basketball, track and field, softball, volleyball, gymnastics, tennis or dance and can be awarded scholarships on the basis of those gifts why do they also need to look nice in a swimsuit?  If the young women in our communities have stellar SAT or ACT scores, are involved in community service, sing or play an instrument why do they also need to parade around in evening gowns in order to receive recognition for their other talents?  And for those who would argue that “participating in pageants builds poise and confidence in young women” I would answer, “Maybe, but can’t you also build confidence through activities like Debate Club or taking leadership roles in church youth groups, Student Council and the like?”

Young men who can swim, run, throw, catch or hit a ball or sink a basket better and faster than anyone else are awarded generous scholarships all the time without ever having to parade around on stage in swimming trunks or tuxedos.  They can be inarticulate and lack poise off the playing field and still receive a college                                             education as long as their academic standing meets the minimum requirements for sports eligibility.  Why then, should the awarding of college scholarships for young women ever come with these dubious strings attached?

In an era where countless young women are plagued by poor body image and accompanying problems like anorexia or bulimia as a result it just seems wrong to perpetuate a system which, at least in part tells women that it isn’t enough to be smart and hard-working, helpful and kind.  Should we really be sending the message that none of those qualities matter unless you are beautiful as well?