FYS The Fifties

Miss America is one of the country’s oldest beauty contests that originated in Atlantic City as a local pageant. However, it quickly transformed into an event that “oppresses women in every area” (No More Miss America manifesto). The 1968 press release read in class entitled “No More Miss America” had an extremely negative view on beauty pageants and how it affected women. The article itself is outwardly feminist, in which it states “we plan to reject all male authority and demand to be busted by policewomen only.” The article directly criticizes the pageant without presenting any possible counterarguments.

Today, it is easy to criticize pageants, like Miss America, for being a negative influence on girl’s self-esteem and image of themselves. I agree with the article’s statement that beauty pageants tend to hold “ludicrous ‘beauty’ standards we ourselves are conditioned to take seriously.” They can depict women as being objects with physical worth rather than showing that they are talented women who want to make a difference in the world.

The Miss America pageant was originally created to create a role model who embodies the greatest American ideals. Miss America is supposed to be a graceful, intelligent woman who cares about making a difference in the world. Unfortunately, the pageant itself may not reveal these intentions. According to missamerica.org, the winner “travels approximately 20,000 miles a month, changing her location every 24 to 48 hours. She tours the nation reaching out to support her ideals, committed to helping others.” For example, Jean Bartel, the 1943 pageant winner, supported the war effort by selling war bonds for a total of 2.5 million dollars. Kate Shindle, the 1998 winner, spent her time addressing federal officials on the subject of AIDS and HIV. Shindle also spent time at the 12th World AIDS Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The writers of “No More Miss America” insisted that those who win the pageant are considered a “military death mascot,” because they do no more than present a”pep-talk” to those involved in the war effort. This is a biased view, because as shown by Kate Shindle, the winners choose to support whatever morals they have in a public manner. Furthermore, the article criticizes the pageant as being a “consumer con-game,” in which the winners are used as an appealing spokesperson for various endorsements. While the winners do endorse various causes and are supported by different sponsors, these endorsements are meant to uphold the winner’s ideals. The entire idea of the pageant is then to have a role model who endorses her own morals in a public manner.

Miss America is based primarily on beauty, considering that it is a visual pageant in which contestants are compared to each other on the basis of appearance. Yet, the pageant itself allows for women, who wish to better society, to do so with the help of sponsors and various endorsements. The idea of Miss America is positive, yet it is interesting to think that if the contestants were not as beautiful then the pageant probably would not receive as many viewers or as much media attention.

Overall, the organizers of the 1968 protest “No More Miss America!” did not recognize any of the counterarguments that uphold the integrity of the pageant. Despite its focus on appearance, it is a manner in which young women, looking to better society, may do so through the help of celebrity and sponsors. If society were to focus on the type of people who win the pageant and what they do afterwards with their celebrity rather than their appearance, then Miss America may not appear as a “degrading mindless-boob-girlie symbol” (No More Miss America!).

— Erin R.