A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes solely so, but most modern beauty pageants have since expanded to also judge contestants based on "inner beauty"—their individual traits and characteristics, including personality, intelligence, aptitude, moral character, and charity. Though typically perceived as a female-oriented competition, male beauty pageants also exist, as do child beauty pageants for youth.
The term "beauty pageant" refers originally to the Big Four beauty pageants: Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth. [1] [2] [3] Hundreds and thousands of beauty contests are held annually, [4] but the Big Four are considered the most prestigious, [5] and are widely covered and broadcast by news media. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] The earliest formal beauty pageants were held in the 19th century, although similar informal events date back to at least the post-classical period. Modern beauty pageants were first established in the early 20th century, with their popularity later boosted by the establishment of international pageants in the mid-20th century. Reforms of pageants in the 21st century marked a shift from primarily focusing on physical appearance to placing more weight on other characteristics.
Beauty pageants are generally multi-tiered, with local competitions feeding into the larger competitions; for example, the international pageants have hundreds or thousands of local competitions. The organizers of each pageant may determine the competition rules, including the age range of contestants. The rules may also require the contestants to be unmarried, and be virtuous, amateur, and available for promotions, besides other criteria. It may also set the clothing standards in which contestants will be judged, including such as formal wear, swimsuit, sportswear, or designer clothing. Possible awards of beauty contests include titles, tiaras, crowns, sashes, bouquets, scepters, savings bonds, scholarships, and prize money. [12] The winner of a beauty contest is generally called a beauty queen for female pageants and a beauty king for male pageants. Pageant titles are often subdivided into "Miss", "Mrs." or "Ms.", and "Teen", to clearly identify the difference between pageant divisions. The rankings of the contestants are referred to as placements. [13]
European festivals dating back to the Middle Ages provide the most direct lineage for beauty pageants. For example, English May Day celebrations always had the selection of a May Queen. In the United States, the May Day tradition of selecting a woman to serve as a symbol of beauty and community ideals continued, as young, beautiful women participated in public celebrations. [15]
The first known beauty pageant was the Belle of the Anna-Ball, a Hungarian traditional beauty pageant, first held in Balatonfüred in 1825. The contest is still being held there on Anna's Day (Anna napja) on 26 July.
A beauty pageant was held during the Eglinton Tournament of 1839, organized by Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, as part of a re-enactment of a medieval joust that was held in Scotland. The pageant was won by Georgiana Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, the wife of Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset, and sister of Caroline Norton, and she was proclaimed as the "Queen of Beauty". [16] [ unreliable source? ] Beauty contests became more popular in the 1880s. In 1888, the title of 'beauty queen' was awarded to an 18-year-old Creole contestant at a pageant in Spa, Belgium. All participants had to supply a photograph and a short description of themselves to be eligible to enter and a final selection of 21 was judged by a formal panel. [17] Such events were not regarded as respectable. In 1880, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware held the first recorded beauty pageant in the United States, searching for "the most beautiful unmarried woman in our nation" and awarding her the title of Miss United States. [18] [19] [20]
Beauty contests came to be considered more respectable with the first modern "Miss America" contest held in 1921. [21] The oldest pageant still in operation today is the Miss America pageant, which was organized in 1921 by a local businessman to entice tourists to Atlantic City, New Jersey. [22] The pageant hosted the winners of local newspaper beauty contests in the "Inter-City Beauty" Contest, attended by over one hundred thousand people. Sixteen-year-old Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C., was crowned Miss America 1921, having won both the popularity and beauty contests, and was awarded $100. [23]
In May 1920, promoter C.E. Barfield of Galveston, Texas organized a new event known as "Splash Day" on the island. The event featured a "Bathing Girl Revue" competition as the centerpiece of its attractions. [24] [25] [26] [27] The event was the kick-off of the summer tourist season in the city and was carried forward annually. The event quickly became known outside of Texas and, beginning in 1926, the world's first international contest was added, known as the International Pageant of Pulchritude. [26] This contest is said to have served as a model for modern pageants. [27] [28] [29] It featured contestants from England, Russia, Turkey, and many other nations and the title awarded at the time was known as "Miss Universe". [27] [30] The event was discontinued in the United States in 1932 because of the Depression (the international competition was revived briefly in Belgium). [31] [32]
The popularity of the Miss America pageant prompted other organizations to establish similar contests in the 1950s and beyond. Some were significant while others were trivial, such as the National Donut Queen contest. The Miss World contest started in 1951, Miss Universe started in 1952, as did Miss USA. Miss International started in 1960. Miss Asia Pacific International, which started in 1968, is the first and oldest beauty pageant in Asia. [33] [34] The Miss Black America contest started in 1968 [35] in response to the exclusion of African American women from the Miss America pageant. The Miss Universe Organization started the Miss Teen USA in 1983 for the 14–19 age group. Miss Earth started in 2001, which channels the beauty pageant entertainment industry to actively promote the preservation of the environment. [36] [37] These contests continue to this day.
Major international contests for women include the yearly Miss World competition (founded by Eric Morley in 1951), Miss Universe (founded in 1952), Miss International (founded in 1960), Miss India Worldwide (founded in 1980) and Miss Earth (founded in 2001 with environmental awareness as its concern). [38] [39] [40] These four are considered the biggest and most well known pageants, the four largest and most famous international beauty contests for single or unmarried women (all apply to single or unmarried women except Miss Universe). Most pageants give an age requirement to be eligible to compete; for example, Miss Universe has a maximum age requirement of 28 years old. [41] [42]
Founded | Pageant | Organizer | Headquarters | Bikini allowed | Bikini regulation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1951 | Miss World | Miss World Organization | London, England | 1951–2014; 2023–present | 1951: The first winner, Kiki Håkansson from Sweden, was crowned in a bikini. Countries with religious traditions threatened to withdraw delegates, [43] and Pope Pius XII condemned the crowning as sinful. [44] [45] 1952: Swimsuits toned down to more modest designs. [22] 1996: Miss World contest was held in Bangalore, India, but the swimsuit round was shifted to Seychelles because of intense protests. [46] 2013: The swimsuit round was dropped because of Islamist protests in Bali, Indonesia, where the contest took place. [47] 2015: The Beach Fashion segment of the pageant was dropped. [48] |
1952 | Miss Universe | JKN Legacy Inc. JKN Global Group (50%) Legacy Holding Group USA Inc. (50%) |
| 1997–present | 1952: Bikinis banned. 1997: Contestants allowed to wear bikinis. [22] 2021: Bikinis made optional. Contestants are allowed to wear burkinis during swimsuit competition. [49] [50] |
1960 | Miss International | International Cultural Association | Tokyo, Japan | 1960–2022 | 1964: Bikinis made mandatory. 2023: The swimsuit parade to replaced by Lingerie parade. |
2001 | Miss Earth | Carousel Productions | Manila, Philippines | 2003–present | 2003: Vida Samadzai from Afghanistan participating in a bikini caused an uproar in her home country. [51] [52] [53] 2017: The "Beauty of Form and Figure" preliminary judging in Miss Earth 2017 was introduced where the delegates walked in white two-piece bikinis while their faces were covered by a white veil to focus the judgment on the body figures in this portion. [54] [55] |
Dethronements and resignations are rare for the Big Four pageant winners, but when it does occur, it creates media attention.
The Miss World pageant has had 3 cases of dethronement or resignation instances:
In its early years, there were two instances where the reigning Miss Universe opted to resign from her position: Armi Kuusela, Miss Universe 1952 from Finland, who held the distinction of being the first Miss Universe winner to give up her crown in less than a year to marry Filipino businessman Virgilio Hilario while Amparo Muñoz, Miss Universe 1974 of Spain refused to travel to Japan and instead resigned after six months of her reign. [69] [70] [71] However, since the pageant had no concrete rule on resignation at that time, they were allowed to keep their titles. [72]
In Miss Earth, the 2002 winner, Dzejla Glavovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was dethroned of her crown six months into her reign, after she failed to show up at several environmental events. [73] [74] According to Carousel Productions, organizer of the Miss Earth contest, Glavovic was dethroned because of "her inability to fulfill the duties and responsibilities as the Miss Earth titleholder, in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth in the Miss Earth contract that she signed." [75] [76] She was succeeded by first runner-up Winfred Omwakwe of Kenya as Miss Earth 2002. [77]
In Miss International, Ikumi Yoshimatsu, Miss International 2012 was the first titleholder of the pageant from Japan to be dethroned shortly before the end of her reign. [78] [79] [80] She was ordered by the International Culture Association (Miss International organizer) to skip the succession ceremony and "play sick and shut up" out of fear of scandal. [81] The Miss International organizer cited the reason for her dethronement was due to her involvement in a contract dispute with a talent agency in which she claimed that she was pressured to sign by Burning Productions, a film production company which is rumored to be linked with the Japanese underworld, but she refused and went ahead by starting her own company. [82] Yoshimatsu filed criminal charges against one of Japan's most powerful talent agency executives, Genichi Taniguchi of Burning Productions, for allegedly stalking, intimidating, and harassing her. [83]
Diversity of contestants and winners have both increased since the inception of beauty pageants. In 1945, Bess Myerson, an American politician, model and, television actress became the first Jewish person to win the Miss America title in the Atlantic city and to this day remains the only Jewish person to have received the crown. Her success in winning the title was hugely symbolic and personal to Jewish people at that time because it in the direct aftermath of the Holocaust. [84] In 1959, Japanese model Akiko Kojima became the first woman of color to win the Miss Universe title. Her success marked the beginning of a shift away from white women as the global female beauty ideal. [85] The continued success of Asian women in American and international beauty pageants has signaled that white women are no longer considered the beauty ideal. [86] In 1983, Vanessa Williams, an American singer, actress and fashion designer gained recognition as being the first African American woman to receive the Miss America title. [87] In 1991, Lupita Jones, a Mexican actress and television producer, became the first Mexican person to win Miss Universe. [88]
Besides the international beauty pageants, numerous minor competitions exist throughout the world displaying the different perceptions of beauty. Some examples of criteria to select beauty queens that are unique to certain culture. The Miss India USA pageant uses Indian history and traditional craft skills as its specialties, [89] [90] while the Miss Howard University competition takes advantage of the principles of "black beauty". [91] The winner is often viewed as a model for the "ideal" community member. [92] Through the competitions, the contestants can learn how to present themselves in public and how to cultivate certain traits such as confidence or poise. [93] In some cases, the competitors are selected to act as a representative on behalf of the community. In the African American community of Howard University, the selected Miss Howard University served as advocates for the Civil Rights Movement in the decades following the 1960s. [91] Additionally, the Miss Landmine competition situated in Angola allow victims to serve as advocates on behalf of other victims of mining accidents. [94]
Researchers suggest that the emergence of beauty pageants in countries outside the United States is linked to an economic boom geared towards a more consumeristic lifestyle. For example, in India, from 1996 to 2000, the personal care industry grew by 25% while the number of women applying for the Miss India competition increased from 1000 people in 1993 to 6500 people in 2001. [95] Additionally, after China hosted about 6 international beauty pageants in 2004, the beauty industry increased in influence in the area. At the same time, the number of regional beauty pageants in the country increased. [96]
Critics of beauty pageants argue that such contests reinforce the idea that girls and women should be valued primarily for their physical appearance, and that this puts tremendous pressure on women to conform to conventional beauty standards by spending time and money on fashion, cosmetics, hair styling, and even cosmetic surgery. They say that this pursuit of physical beauty even encourages some women to diet to the point of harming themselves. [97] [98]
The London Feminist Network argues that rather than being empowering, beauty pageants do the opposite: denying women's full humanity by subjecting them to objectification, denying their full humanity by maintaining that their primary purpose is to be attractive. [99] Beginning in 1981, the International Year of the Disabled Person, campaigners in Australia targeted beauty pageants in order to, in the words of activist Leslie Hall, "challenge the notion of beauty" and "reject the charity ethic." High profile demonstrations led to some charities abandoning their use of such contests for fundraising and also saw some remove offensive language from their organisational titles. [100]
Another criticism is in the way beauty pageant is quantifiably scored as highlighted by the "Myth of the Perfect 10". [101] Beauty becomes a numerical coefficient in ranking contestants, and this type of scoring still remains followed as a system even in nationwide beauty pageants such as Miss America. [102]
Researchers suggest that these events strengthen skills, such as interpersonal communications, self-assurance, and public speaking, which prove to be useful in future career paths. [103]
The requirement for contestants to wear a swimsuit was a controversial aspect of the various competitions. The controversy was heightened with the increasing popularity of the bikini after its introduction in 1946. The bikini was banned for the Miss America contest in 1947 because of Roman Catholic protesters. [104] When the Miss World contest started in 1951, there was an outcry when the winner was crowned in a bikini. Pope Pius XII condemned the crowning as sinful, [44] [45] and countries with religious traditions threatened to withdraw delegates. [43] The bikini was banned for future and other contests. It was not until the late 1990s that they became permitted again, [22] but still generated controversy when finals were held in countries where bikinis (or swimsuits in general) were socially disapproved. [22] [47] For example, in 2003, Vida Samadzai from Afghanistan caused an uproar in her native country when she participated in the Miss Earth 2003 contest in a red bikini. [105] [106] She was condemned by the Afghan Supreme Court, saying such a display of the female body goes against Islamic law and Afghan culture. [107] [108] In 2013, the swimsuit round of the Miss World contest was dropped because of Islamist protests in Bali (Indonesia), where the contest took place. [47] In 2014, the Miss World contest eliminated the swimsuit competition from its pageant. [109] In 2018, Miss America eliminated the swimsuit competition after 97 years. [110]
In 2017, Carousel Productions was criticized for objectifying women during the Miss Earth 2017 competition where delegates wore swimsuits during the event with their faces concealed by a veil in the Beauty of Figure and Form, a segment first introduced in the Miss Philippines Earth 2017 pageant. [111] [112] [113] [114] It was one of the three preliminary judging segments of the pageant that include Poise and Beauty of Face and Environmental and Intelligence Competition. [115] [111] The organizers defended the "beauty of figure and form" segment and released a statement that the said round was intended to promote strict impartiality during pre-judging by focusing on the contestants' curves, execution and not beautiful face. [116] [112]
There have been numerous scandals in the beauty pageant industry and they continue to emerge as beauty pageants become more known to the public. In December 2017, HuffPost published emails written by then-Miss America CEO Sam Haskell that disparaged former pageant contestants, making vulgar references to their weight and personal lives. Due to the release of these emails to the public, Haskell and several other board members resigned from their positions. [117]
Laura Zúñiga, former Miss Hispanic America, was detained with her boyfriend and six other people, and charged with racketeering, drug trafficking, weapons violations, and money laundering. When apprehended, they had multiple handguns and roughly $53,000 in cash. [118]
At the Miss Teen USA 2007 pageant, Caitlin Upton gained international notoriety for her convoluted and nonsensical response to a question posed to her during the August 2007 national pageant. [119] [120] During the pageant, judge Aimee Teegarden asked: "Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?". Upton responded:
I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some, uh, people out there in our nation don't have maps and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, or, uh, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future. For our children. [121] [122]
As a guest on NBC's The Today Show , Upton told Ann Curry and Matt Lauer that she was overwhelmed when asked the question and did not comprehend it correctly. [123] [118]
Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization. Along with Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth, it is one of the Big Four beauty pageants.
Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss International, and Miss Earth, it is one of the Big Four beauty pageants.
Miss Earth is an annual international major beauty pageant based in the Philippines that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss International, it is one of the Big Four beauty pageants.
Miss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India that annually selects representatives to compete in Miss World, one of the Big Four international beauty pageants. It is organised by Femina, a women's magazine published by The Times Group.
Miss Venezuela is a Venezuelan beauty pageant operated by the Cisneros Group. Founded in 1952, it currently selects Venezuelan representatives to Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International. The current national director of Miss Venezuela is Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler.
A swimsuit competition, more commonly now called a bikini contest, is a beauty contest which is judged and ranked while contestants wear a swimsuit, typically a bikini. One of the judging criteria is the physical attractiveness of the contestants. The Big Four international beauty pageants have included examples of such a competition.
Miss Universe Canada or The Beauties of Canada is an annual national beauty pageant that selects Canada's official representative to Miss Universe—one of the Big Four beauty pageants
The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria – often abbreviated as MBGN – is a pageant organised by Silverbird Group with the main purpose of sending representatives to international competitions. Originally known as Miss Universe Nigeria, it was renamed Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria after news publishers Daily Times lost their license to send delegates from rival contest Miss Nigeria to Miss World. Since 2005, the pageant has produced multiple representatives, but the MBGN World recipient is considered the overall winner. Miss Universe Nigeria was reestablished in 2023, breaking away from MBGN and operating as an entirely different pageant.
Miss Universe 1959 was the eighth Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 24 July 1959. This was the last year that the pageant was held in Long Beach before it moved to Miami Beach, Florida in 1960.
Miss Universe 1958 was the seventh Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 25 July 1958.
Miss Universe 1957 was the 6th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 19 July 1957.
Miss Universe 1953 was the 2nd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States of America on 17 July 1953.
Miss Universe 1954 was the 3rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 24 July 1954.
Miss Nigeria is an annual pageant showcasing positive attributes of Nigerian women, and awarding university scholarships. The winner is expected to portray exemplary qualities whilst serving as a role model to young women in the country. The pageant is currently organised by Daily Times.
Miss Bhutan is a national beauty pageant based in Bhutan. The first Miss Bhutan pageant was held in 2008, the first winner of Miss Bhutan, Tsokye Tsomo Karchung, participated in Miss Earth 2008 beauty pageant, an annual international beauty contest promoting environmental awareness. She took part in the 8th Edition of Miss Earth, Miss Young International in Taiwan, and Miss Safari 2008 in Kenya. The second Miss Bhutan was held in 2010 where Sonam Choden Retty was the winner and held the title for the longest period (2010-2021). The third edition of Miss Bhutan was held only after a decade, Tashi Choden took the title and is now the reigning queen. She is the first one in the country to represent in the Miss Universe.
Miss Gay Philippines (MGP) is a queer beauty pageant in the Philippines. Considered the longest-running national gay beauty pageant in the Philippines, Miss Gay Philippines was founded in 1979 by entertainment journalist and talk show host Chito Alcid. Miss Gay Philippines is currently owned by the Betera Group.
Miss Earth 2012 was the 12th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held at the Versailles Palace in Las Piñas, Metro Manila, Philippines, on November 24, 2012.
Miss Earth 2013 was the 13th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held at the Versailles Palace in Las Piñas, Metro Manila, Philippines, on December 7, 2013.
Roshanara Ebrahim is a Kenyan TV host, model, author and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Kenya 2021. As Miss Universe Kenya, she represented Kenya at Miss Universe 2021. Ebrahim had previously been crowned Mr. and Mrs. Universities 2014, Miss World Kenya 2016 and Miss Supermodel International Kenya 2018.
Diamond Langi is a Tongan-New Zealand Actress, Singer, Model, Stylist, Camera host and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand 2019. She represented New Zealand at the Miss Universe 2019
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)The dawning of the new millennium may signal a shift in the cultural importance of racialized gendered bodies. On October 14, 2000, a Filipina American, Miss Hawaii Angela Perez Baraquio, was crowned Miss America for 2001. A few years earlier another Miss Hawaii, a mixed-race part-Asian American woman named Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee, won not only the Miss USA competition but the title of 1997 Miss Universe. Such victories do not necessarily mean full acceptance for Asian Americans into the American body politic. However they do signal a breakdown in the hegemony of European-American cultural standards of beauty.