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Anatomy of a Beauty Pageant [Her]stories and [His]tories of the Pageant Circuit

Anatomy of a Beauty Pageant

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Page 1: Anatomy of a Beauty Pageant

Anatomy  of  a  Beauty  Pageant  [Her]stories  and  [His]tories  of  the  Pageant  Circuit  

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Banet-­‐Weiser  •  What  are  some  of  the  authors’  arguments?  

–  That    the  swimsuit  compe66on  is    part    of    a    much    more    complex    and     contradictory     set     of    meanings     offered   not   only   by   the  pageant,  but  also  by  other  contemporary    concepts    of    femininity.      

–  That  these    meanings    shi?    and    take    par6cular    shape    over    a    period    marked    by    contested    defini6ons    of    racial    and    gendered    iden66es,    shi?ing    concep6ons    of    the    feminine    body,  and  the  growth  of  consumer  society    and    commodified    popular    cultural    forms.  

–  That     the     swimsuit     compe66on     both    mirrors     and     invents    standards    for    the    "average"    American    body    (an    average    that    is    inextricable     from     current     feminine     ideals)     and     that     these    standards    are    and    have    always    been    connected    to    histories    of    na6onalism    and    racial    purity.    

•  Let’s  look  at  the  history  of  the  swimsuit  compe77on  of  Miss  America.    

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     Beauty  contest,  by  Reginald  Marsh,  c.  1938-­‐45.        

Percep6on  of  Beauty  –  It  was  not  long  a?er  Henry  David  Thoreau  

said   that   the   “percep6on   of   beauty   is   a  moral   test”   that   his   contemporary     P.T.  Barnum   inaugurated   the   world’s   first  official  beauty  pageant,  which  was  staged  in  1854  and  which  was  deemed  so  risqué  that   Barnum   had   to   tone   it   down   by  asking   women   to   submit   images   for  judging   instead   of   hos6ng   a   live   show.  From   there,   legend   has   it   that   the   first  “bathing   beauty   pageant”   took   place   in  the   beach   town   of   Rehoboth   Beach,  Delaware,  where   in   the  1880s,   the  event  was  held   as   part   of   a   summer   fes6val   to  promote  business.          

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Beauty  contest  on  Long  Island,  c.  1925.    

•  Miss  America  –  The  Miss  America  pageant  was  first  held   in  

1921   in   Atlan6c   City,   New   Jersey,   and  presided   over   by   a   man   dressed   like   King  Neptune.   Sixteen-­‐year-­‐old   Margaret  Gorman   from  Washington,  D.C.   took  home  the   golden   Liele  Mermaid   trophy.   And   yet  the   beauty   of   this   beauty   pageant   was  secondary   to  commercial   interests;  as  with  many   American   cultural   tradi6ons,   what  became  the  Miss  America  pageant  began  as  a  promo6onal  stunt,  in  this  case  promo6ng  tourism  in  Atlan6c  City  beyond  the  summer  months.    

–  Ever  since,  the  bathing  suit  compe66on  has  remained   an   integral   part—or,   let’s   face   it—the   integral   part—of   most   beauty  pageants.        

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When  Miss  America  began  in  Atlan6c  City  in  1921,  all  swimsuits  worn  were  one-­‐piece  and  ended  in  a  skirt  (pictured  in  1926)      

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Women  showed  very  liele  cleavage  (here  in  1927),  and  figures  were  generally  more  covered-­‐up  

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A?er  the  pageant  was  shut  down  for   several   years   in   response   to  protesters   who   called   it   too  risqué,   the   swimwear   –   s6ll  modest   by   today's   standards   –  came   back   in   the   1930s.   At   the  6me,   swimwear   also   played   an  especially   important   role   within  the  compe66on.  For  the  first  two  and  a  half  decades,  winners  were  actually   crowned   wearing   their  bathing   suits,   and   at   one   6me  the  swimsuit  compe66on  had  its  own  special  6tle:  Bather’s  Revue.    

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Beauty  pageants  during  the  civil  rights  era.  

Af r i c an -­‐Amer i c an   beau ty  contest  in  Mississippi  

– Many   beauty   pageants   at   that  6me,   including   Miss   America,  allowed   only   white   women   to  compete.   It   was   not   un6l   1970  that   the   first   African   American  contestant  reached  the  na6onal  Miss   America   compe66on,   two  years   a?er   the   Miss   Black  America   Pageant   had   been  inaugurated  in  protest.  

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Do  you   know   that  beauty  pageants   like  Miss  Universe  and  Miss  USA  came  to  exist  because  of  the  dispute  with  a  swimwear  brand?   •  Catalina  Swimwear  –  C a t a l i n a ' s   i n fl u en c e   w a s  

intertwined   with   the   myth   and  icon   of   the  Miss   America   Beauty  Pageant.   When   they   sponsored  the   contest   in   the   1940s,  contestants   wore   essen6ally   off-­‐the-­‐rack  Catalina  swimsuits.  They  dropped   sponsorship   a?er   the  1951   winner,   Yolande   Betbeze,  refused   to   pose   for   publicity  p i c tu res   wh i l e   wear ing   a  swimsuit.   Catalina   then   went   on  to  found  the  Miss  USA,  Miss  Teen  USA,  and  Miss  Universe  pageants,  co-­‐sponsoring   them   for   decades  to   follow.  With   this   came   a   new  slogan   to   emphasize   their  growing   global   awareness:  "A round   the   wor ld . . .   i t ' s  Catalina"..  

•  Now,  watch  the  following  video.    

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Regula6ng  the  Body  

•  According  to  the  author:    – Women     are     produced     as    feminine     subjects     through    disciplinary    prac6ces.    

•  Disciplining     oneself     as     a    par6cular    kind    of    body    entails    the     necessary     other     side     to    this    prac6ce:    humilia6on.    

The     popular     press     and     tabloids     devoted    much    space     and     6me     to    Miss     Universe     1996,     Alicia    Machado,     who     caused     great     controversy     and    threats    of    dis-­‐  missal    over    her    apparent     twenty-­‐pound    weight    gain    during    her    reign.  

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Regula6ng  Self  and  Desire  •  One   of   the   most   important   arguments   presented   by   the  

Banet-­‐Weiser  is:  –  Sex    is    forcibly    called    up    through    the    swimsuit    compe77on,    not    only    because    of    the    sexualized    body    that    is    evaluated,    but    also    because    of    the    silence    of    the    contestants.    Voices    may    be    heard    during    each    individual    parade    in    front    of    the    judges    (and    the    voice    may    even    be    the    recorded    voice    of    the    contestant),    but    the    contestant    herself    does    not    speak    during     this     par7cular     compe77on   .     Her     status     as     a    nonspeaking    subject    is    absolutely    crucial    to    the    logic    of    the    swimsuit    compe77on-­‐  and    to    the    processes    of    containment    that    ensure    its    success    within    the    larger    pageant.  .”  (p  75).    

•  Think  of  this  quote.  Do  you  agree  with  the  author?  If  not?  In   which   ways   a   contestant   may   challenge   that  containment  (if  possible)?