Professional Pageants

Every year in the United State, millions of people tune in to watch the Miss Universe, Miss USA, Miss America and Miss Teen USA pageants to see who will take the coveted crown that year. To much of the general public sees these pageants as silly, outdated rituals that are fun to poke fun at with friends over a bowl of popcorn. However, the Miss USA Organization, the group that produces all of these pageants, sees them in a completely different way. The official Miss USA website talks about "redefining" the organization in recent years and the goals of the company and the women who are crowned. The organization started as a tiny bathing beauty contest in Atlantic City and has now become a multi million dollar project that strives to provide opportunities for young women. On the Miss America official website the 2001 crown holder, Angela Perez Baraquio is quoted saying "The Miss America program has enabled me to do things I never dreamed of doing... It is a vehicle to make your mark on this world". It is interesting to me that the Miss America Pageant that I watched with my family when I was little holds these values. The only thing I can remember about watching them was that my mother would tell me how unimportant physical appearances are after I watched them. How then, can an organization based on giving opportunities and chances to women still make people think of anti feminist values? It seems as though the public walks away from these pageants with the exact opposite views on them than the organization is trying to provide.

work cited:

Miss USA Organization

[2008] Corporate Information

http://missusa.com/corpinfo/index.html