Swimsuit competition

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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.

Contents

Bikini contests have sometimes been organized or sponsored by companies for marketing purposes [1] or to find new models for their products, with the contests being presented as a form of adult entertainment. Swimwear competitions have formed a part of beauty pageants, such as the Miss Earth and Miss World pageants, and sponsors have included commercial brands such as Hawaiian Tropic. Contests have also been held in bars and nightclubs, during intermissions in boxing or wrestling matches and at car shows. Bodybuilding and fitness competitions have evolved to include a bikini division. Participants in such contests may be competing for prizes including trophies, money, and modeling contracts.

Types of bikini contests

TypeImageDescription
Beauty pageant Missearth08 top8.jpg Finalists at the swimsuit round of Miss Earth 2007 from Georgia, Canada, Venezuela, Spain, Thailand, Switzerland, and India. Though many pageants are playing down the bikini contest part, [2] participants in some beauty contests like the Miss Universe, Miss International, Miss Earth or the Miss USA pageants, are required to wear bikinis as part of the competition. [3]
Entertainment Hooters Bikini Contest.jpg Hooters bikini contest in Courtyard, Jacksonville, Florida, 2009.
Fitness Glamazons (7453607656).jpg Fitness models at Hong Kong Bodybuilding Championships, 2012. Early women's bodybuilding was about bikini contests. After protests in the 1970s Gloria Miller Fudge started real bodybuilding. [4] Bikini competition was created within fitness and figure competitions as a category on November 7, 2010, by IFBB to attract more female participants. [5] The first Bikini Olympia was introduced in 2010.
Wrestling Bikini Contest.jpg Charles Wright hosting a bikini contest as part of the Hulkamania Tour in Melbourne, 2009. Wrestlers like Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly are also bikini models.
Hot Import Nights bikini contest 32.jpg
Hot Import Nights bikini contest 21.jpg
A swimsuit contestant wearing a microkini at the Hot Import Nights auto show held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2010

History

In the United States, beauty pageants of women in bathing costumes became popular from the 1880s. However, such events were not regarded as respectable. Beauty contests became more respectable with the first modern "Miss America" contest held in 1921, though less respectable beauty contests continued to be held. Miss America dropped the swimsuit competition in 2018, as part of a general change to avoid judging women based on physical appearance.

Contest organization

Blue bikini.jpg
Jessica Canizales 3.jpg
Bikini contest in Florida, 2006

Bikini contests have sometimes been organised or sponsored by companies for marketing purposes [1] or to find new models for their products. Miss Hawaiian Tropic is organized by Playtex to promote "Hawaiian Tropic", its suntan lotion. NOPI runs the annual Hot Import Nights bikini contest, which is held in conjunction with the import car-show in Atlanta, Georgia.

There is also an annual Hooters bikini competition. [6] [7]

There are some swimsuit competitions which aim to judge the beauty of a single part of body, such as female buttocks (for example, the Miss Bum Bum contest held in Brazil, and the Miss Reef contest held in several South American countries).[ citation needed ]

Controversies

Despite their popularity and women's voluntary participation, swimsuit competitions, especially bikini contests, are sometimes controversial. Critics argue that beauty contests reinforce the idea that girls and women are primarily valued for their physical appearance, and that this puts pressure on women to conform to conventional beauty standards. [8] [9] [10]

Miss World contest

The first Miss World contest was organized by Eric Morley in 1951 as a promotion for swimwear at the Festival of Britain. [11] [12] The press welcomed the spectacle and referred to it as Miss World. [13] When the winner Kiki Håkansson from Sweden was crowned in a bikini, countries with religious traditions threatened to withdraw delegates. The bikinis were outlawed and evening gowns introduced instead. [14] Håkansson remains the only Miss World crowned in a bikini, [13] a crowning that was condemned by the Pope. [15] The bikini was banned from Miss World beauty pageants after the controversy. [16] [17]

Bikinis reappeared in later contests amid additional controversy. In the 1970s and 1980s, the contest was regularly picketed by feminist protesters. [17] The pageant disappeared for a while and in 1996, when the Miss World contest was held in Bangalore, India, dozens of Indian groups opposed to the event claimed that the contest degraded women by featuring them in bikinis. Social activist Subhashini Ali commented, "It's not an IQ test. Neither is it a charity show. It's a beauty contest in which these things have been added on as sops." The protests were so intense that the organizers were finally compelled to shift the venue of the swimsuit round to the Seychelles. [18] [19] [20] Countering these claims, the contest organizer says that the organization has raised £300 million for charity in many of the countries where it operates since 2000. [21]

In 2013, the Miss World event was hosted by Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country. The country's top Muslim clerical body, the Indonesian Ulema Council, suggested that the event should be cancelled because it promotes "hedonism, materialism, and consumerism," and is nothing but "an excuse to show women's body parts that should remain covered." The organizers later announced that the bikini would be replaced by one-piece swimsuits and sarongs, traditional beachwear on the resort island of Bali. Pageant Chairwoman Julia Morley explained, "I do not want to upset or get anyone in a situation where we are being disrespectful." [22]

Critics accuse the Miss World organizers of caving to extremist pressures. [23] They point out that Bali is a destination for tourists from across the world who often wear minimal swimwear. [24]

Brooke Magnanti argued that the decision to yield to religious fundamentalists was not a victory for feminism:

While no great fan of pageants there's something about this that rubs the wrong way. For some time it's been clear that the interests and tactics of certain types of feminism and certain types of religious fundamentalism not only converge, but seem to complement each other. [25]

Donald Trump, who owned the Miss Universe beauty pageant until it was acquired by William Morris Endeavor, [26] a competitor to the Miss World contest, was delighted to learn of the rival organization's decision. He told Fox News, "Well, I own Miss Universe, so I'm actually very happy about it—because if Miss World doesn't have bikinis, their ratings go right down the tubes." [27]

Miss Earth

Vida Samadzai was the 2003 Afghan contestant for the Miss Earth title. She was severely condemned by both the Afghan authorities and community for seeking the title. [28] Samadzai was born in Afghanistan but raised in the United States. She was living in India at the time of the contest. [29] The Afghan Supreme Court banned swimsuit contests and said that appearing naked in beauty contests is completely un-Islamic, and is against Afghan tradition, human honour and dignity. Habiba Sarabi, the Afghan women affairs minister, said Samadzai's semi-naked appearance "is not women's freedom but in my opinion is to entertain men". Afghanistan's embassy in Washington DC declared that claims by Afghan American Samadzai to represent Afghanistan is baseless. [30] Samadzai, the second woman to be crowned Miss Afghanistan after Zohra Daoud's crowning in 1972, received a number of death threats and had to be under the protection of the FBI for three months. [28] [31] She said that she was a bit uncomfortable wearing the "70s style red bikini", and was aware of the risks involved. [29] [32] [33]

In the Miss Earth 2017, Carousel Productions, the organizer of the pageant, was criticized for objectifying women when the delegates wore swimsuits in the Beauty of Figure and Form, with their faces concealed by a veil, a segment first introduced in the Miss Philippines Earth 2017 pageant. [34] [35] [36] [37] The event was one of the three preliminary judging segments of the pageant that include Poise and Beauty of Face and Environmental and Intelligence Competition. [38] [34] The pageant organizer defended that the "beauty of figure and form" segment was intended to promote strict impartiality during pre-judging by focusing on the contestants' curves, execution and not beautiful face. [39] [35]

Children's bikini contest

Miss Tanguita, which translates as "Miss Child Bikini", is held in Barbosa, Santader, Colombia as annual part of the "del Rio Suarez" Festival. The organisers deny the allegations that the competition is a camouflage for sexual exploitation, and instead describe it as an awareness event about the importance of children's fitness. Activists say that the competition, though legal, abuses the human rights of minors. [40]

Miss Teen USA

Beginning in 2016, the Miss Teen USA pageant removed the swimsuit competition and replaced it with an athleticwear round. [41]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bikini</span> Two-piece swimwear

A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by girls and women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering the intergluteal cleft and a little, some, or all of the buttocks. The size of the top and bottom can vary, from bikinis that offer full coverage of the breasts, pelvis, and buttocks, to more revealing designs with a thong or G-string bottom that covers only the mons pubis, but exposes the buttocks, and a top that covers only the areolae. Bikini bottoms covering about half the buttocks may be described as "Brazilian-cut".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beauty pageant</span> Competition mostly based on physical attributes

A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now moved towards including inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, talent, character, and charitable involvement, through private interviews with judges and answers to public on-stage questions. Pageant titles are subdivided into Miss, Mrs. or Ms., and Teen – to clearly identify the difference between pageant divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss World</span> International beauty pageant

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimsuit</span> Clothing worn for swimming

A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, women, and children. A swimsuit can be described by various names, some of which are used only in particular locations or for particular types of suit, including swimwear, bathing suit, bathing attire, swimming costume, bathing costume, swimming suit, swimmers, swimming togs, bathers, cossie, or swimming trunks, besides others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Earth</span> Annual environmental awareness-themed international beauty competition

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiki Håkansson</span> Swedish beauty pageant contestant (born 1929)

Kerstin Margareta "Kiki" Håkansson is a Swedish model and beauty queen who was the first winner of the Miss World beauty pageant after being crowned Miss Sweden World in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vida Samadzai</span> Miss Afghanistan (2003; born 1978)

Vida Samadzai is an Afghan-American actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was Miss Afghanistan 2003. As the first Afghan woman to participate in an international beauty pageant since 1974, her appearance in a red bikini in the 2003 edition of Miss Earth pageant created controversy in her native country. She was a contestant on the popular reality show Bigg Boss in 2011.

Hawaiian Tropic is an American brand of suntan lotion that was founded by Ron Rice in 1969. Hawaiian Tropic became the largest private manufacturer of sun care products in the United States. The company was acquired by Playtex Products, Inc. in May 2007. With Hawaiian Tropic and Playtex's Banana Boat brand, Playtex became the largest manufacturer of sun care products in the Western Hemisphere. Shortly after purchasing Hawaiian Tropic, Playtex Products was purchased by Energizer Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at $1.9 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fitness and figure competition</span> Form of physique training

Fitness and figure competition is a class of physique-exhibition events mainly for women but also men. While bearing a close resemblance to bodybuilding, its emphasis is on muscle definition, not size. The class was introduced when bodybuilding's popularity began to decline.

Miss Earth 2003 was the 3rd edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held on November 9, 2003, at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, Philippines. Fifty-seven delegates from all over the globe participated in the event. The pageant was broadcast live via ABS-CBN in the Philippines and to many countries worldwide via Star World, The Filipino Channel and other partner networks. Winfred Omwakwe from Kenya crowned her successor Dania Prince of Honduras the end of the event. Brazil's Pricila Zandona was selected Miss Air 2003, Costa Rica's Marianela Zeledon Bolanos was chosen Miss Water 2003, and Poland's Marta Matyjasik was Miss Fire 2003. The pageant was hosted by Television show host Ariel Ureta. The candidates were initially presented at the poolside of Hotel Intercontinental Manila in Makati on October 22, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beauty for a Cause</span> Official slogan and award for the Miss Earth beauty pageant

Beauty for a Cause is the slogan of the Miss Earth beauty pageant which highlights the work of the pageant and the slogan was adopted since the pageant's inception in 2001. The slogan empowers the contestants to work with an environmental advocacy that is personally significant to them. The phrase is also the name of an award also given by the pageant. The first Beauty for a Cause prize was awarded in 2003.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss World 1951</span> Beauty pageant edition

Miss World 1951 was the first Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom on 29 July 1951. The contest was originally intended to be a one-off event connected with the Festival of Britain.

The Miss Universe Ireland is a national beauty pageant that has selected Ireland's representative to the Miss Universe pageant since 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bikini in popular culture</span>

The modern bikini first appeared in 1946, and since then it has become a part of popular culture. It is one of the most widely worn women's swimsuits, used for swimming and in a variety of other contexts. Today, bikinis appear in competitions, films, magazines, music, literature, and video games. Despite the availability of more revealing glamour wear, bikini modeling remains popular and can still create controversy. Portrayals of the bikini in popular culture led, to a large extent, to its acceptance by Western society at large. In 1960, Brian Hyland's pop song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" inspired a bikini-buying spree. The white bikini worn by Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No has been cited as one of the most famous bikinis of all time. By 1963, the movie Beach Party, starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, led a wave of films that made the bikini a pop-culture symbol. Playboy first featured a bikini on its cover in 1962. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue debuted two years later. This increasing popularity was reinforced by its appearance in such contemporary films as How to Stuff a Wild Bikini featuring Annette Funicello and One Million Years B.C. (1966) featuring Raquel Welch. Raquel Welch's fur bikini in One Million Years B.C. became a famous moment in cinema history. Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Gina Lollobrigida and Jane Russell further helped the growing popularity of bikinis. Pin up posters of Monroe and Mansfield, as well as Hayworth, Bardot and Raquel Welch distributed around the world contributed significantly to the popularity of the bikini.

Miss Pakistan World is a beauty pageant for women of Pakistani descent from around the world. The event used to be held in Toronto, Canada but has moved to Pakistan and is held annually in Lahore, Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the bikini</span>

Evidence of bikini-style women's clothing has been found as early as 5600 BC, and the history of the bikini can be traced back to that era. Illustrations of women wearing bikini-like garments during competitive athletic events in the Roman era have been found in several locations, the most famous of which is at Villa Romana del Casale.

Magyarország Szépe is a national Beauty pageant for Miss World pageant. The pageant under the management of The Magyarország Szépe Kft. This pageant is not related to Miss Universe Hungary or Miss International Hungary contests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi beauty pageants</span>

There are a number of Iraqi beauty pageants. Miss Iraq is one of the national beauty pageants in Iraq. Others include Miss World Iraq and Miss Earth Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eileen O'Donnell</span> Irish model

Eileen Mary O'Donnell, known professionally as Eileen O'Donnell, is a Northern Irish model and beauty pageant titleholder. O'Donnell started her career in 2011 and has since modelled in the categories of fashion, skincare and swimwear. She has gone on to collaborate with numerous notable brands including Pretty Little Thing, GymKing, MVMT Watches, The Couture Club, Ziaja Skincare, Benefit Cosmetics, amongst others.

References

  1. 1 2 "Inside Line: Homemade bikini contest marks 12th year". Ad Age. Crain Communications Inc. 29 May 2000. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Roger Chapman, Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices, pages 38–39, M.E. Sharpe, 2010, ISBN   978-0-7656-2250-1
  3. ↑ "Teen To Appear on Nationally Televised Pageant". Fayetteville Observer. Charles Broadwell. August 7, 1993.
  4. ↑ Anne Bolin, Jane Granskog, Athletic Intruders: Ethnographic Research on Women, Culture, and Exercise, page 114, SUNY Press, 2003, ISBN   978-0-7914-5583-8
  5. ↑ Kotel, Amanda (October 1, 2012). "What's the Deal with Bikini Contests?". Muscle & Body . Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Hooters Annual International Pageant". Hooters. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  7. ↑ "Meet 20 Stunning Women Competing for Miss Hooters International". Maxim. 23 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "Beauty and body image in the media". Media Awareness Network. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  9. ↑ "Reigning Miss Universe Suspected of Having Cosmetic Surgery". 2009-08-29. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  10. ↑ "Plastic Surgery: Bollywood, Miss Universe, and the Indian Girl Next Door" (PDF). Gujarati Magazine (Sandesh). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  11. ↑ Stein, Elissa; Meriwether, Lee (2006). Beauty Queen. Chronicle Books. p.  45. ISBN   0-8118-4864-7.
  12. ↑ Dewey, Susan (2008). Making Miss India Miss World. Syracuse University Press. p.  46. ISBN   978-0-8156-3176-7.
  13. 1 2 Lovegrove, Keith (2002). Pageant: The Beauty Contest. teNeues. p.  1967. ISBN   3-8238-5569-7.
  14. ↑ Shin, Han (2004). Beauty with a Purpose. iUniverse. p. 193. ISBN   0-595-30926-7.
  15. ↑ "Selvedge: The Fabric of Your Life". Selvedge Ltd. 2005: 39.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ↑ Marcus, Ben; Divine, Jeff (2005). Surfing USA!: An Illustrated History of the Coolest Sport of All Time. MVP Books. p. 60. ISBN   978-0-89658-690-1.
  17. 1 2 Magnanti, Brooke (7 June 2013). "Miss World bikini ban: why it's no victory for feminists". Telegraph. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  18. ↑ "Miss Greece now Miss World, despite pageant protests". CNN. 23 November 1996. Archived from the original on 17 December 2003.
  19. ↑ Pratap, Anita (22 November 1996). "Indian police prepare for worst in beauty pageant clash". CNN. Archived from the original on 4 April 2003.
  20. ↑ Pratap, Anita (17 November 1996). "Beauty pageant in India becomes a contest of wills". CNN.
  21. ↑ Sinclair, Emma (20 May 2013). "Miss World owner: How a mother and housewife gave the beauty pageant a positive legacy" . Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  22. ↑ "Miss World Beauty Pageant Bans Bikinis". The Huffington Post. June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013. The bikini segment is one of the cornerstones of the Miss World Beauty Pageant but the 2013 event will not be featuring them. Out of respect to this year's Muslim host nation Indonesia, the 137 contestants at the event in Jakarta will be wearing the traditional long sarongs of Bali instead.
  23. ↑ Lewis, Leo. "Miss World contest cuts bikini round to appease Muslim world". Times Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  24. ↑ Maass, Harold (7 June 2013). "The controversial bikini ban at the Miss World beauty pageant" . Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  25. ↑ Magnanti, Brooke (June 7, 2013). "Miss World bikini ban: why it's no victory for feminists". The Telegraph. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  26. ↑ Killoran, Ellen (14 September 2015). "Donald Trump Sells Miss Universe, Miss USA Pageants To WME/IMG -- But They Still Need A Network". Forbes.
  27. ↑ Harrison, Lily (June 10, 2013). "Donald Trump Defends Bikini Contests on Miss World Competition". E!Online. Retrieved June 14, 2013. Bikini contests aren't going anywhere if Donald Trump has his way.
  28. 1 2 Gersh Kuntzman, "Beauty is a Beast", Newsweek, 2003-11-03
  29. 1 2 Matthan, Ayesha (18 December 2007). "Fida over Vida". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007.
  30. ↑ News desk, "Afghan Supreme Court bans beauty pageants", Independent Online, 2003-09-30
  31. ↑ Farhad J. Dadyburjor, "I was under FBI's watch for 3 months: Miss Afghanistan", Daily News and Analysis, 2006-06-29
  32. ↑ News Desk, "Miss Afghanistan says she was uncomfortable wearing bikini, goal is to help women and children back home", Financial Times, 2003-11-07
  33. ↑ Kimi Yoshino, "Causing a stir, all because of a bikini", Times New Service , 2003-11-28
  34. 1 2 Dela Cruz, Lito (19 October 2017). "Miss Earth organizers slammed over controversial preliminary round" . Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  35. 1 2 Requintina, Robert R. (25 June 2017). "Veiled faces and 2-piece swimsuits in Miss Philippines Earth pageant". Manila Bulletin . Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  36. ↑ Tuazon, Nikko (24 June 2017). "Miss Philippines Earth 2017 organizers defend controversial preliminary event". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  37. ↑ "Miss Earth pageant covers contestants' faces as they walk down in swimsuits". Coconuts Media . 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  38. ↑ Adina, Armin (15 July 2017). "Miss PH-Earth winners 'unveiled' tonight". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  39. ↑ "Miss PH Earth organizers on veil issue: Women not objectified". Rappler . 25 June 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  40. ↑ Raya Desmawanto Nainggolan (January 14, 2015). "Wah, Kontes Ratu Bikini Anak-anak Digelar di Negara Ini".
  41. ↑ "First Look! See What Miss Teen USA Contestants Will Wear Instead of Bikinis on Total Divas". 2016-07-22. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
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