This week, the reigning Miss USA and Miss Teen USA announced they would be relinquishing their crowns. It was another reminder to pageant audiences that this tradition of luxury and glamor has been plagued by a long series of controversies.
Noelia Vogt announced Monday that she will step down after winning the Miss USA title in September 2023 and competing in Miss Universe later that year. Although she did not elaborate on the circumstances that led to her resignation, Voigt told her Instagram followers: Our health is our wealth. ”
Two days later, Umasofia Srivastava announced that she was also stepping down from the Miss Teen USA title, citing disagreements with the organization.
It’s the latest issue in an industry that has come under intense criticism in recent years over its impact on women and girls, declining viewership and participation, and a troubling reputation for sexism. Meanwhile, experts say some of the nation’s largest pageants are undergoing reforms, with many participants feeling a huge boost in confidence and opportunity.
Hilary Levy Friedman, author of Here She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America, says being in the spotlight as the winner of a major pageant can be “both mental and physical. “It’s very emotionally taxing,” he said. She is the daughter of Miss America in 1970.
The Rise and Fall of Contests in the United States
Levy Friedman said beauty pageants are inextricably linked to the path of feminism in the United States. Miss America started the year after women won the right to vote, but the iconic sashes worn by contestants in both large and small pageants are said to be derived from the sashes worn by women’s suffragists. says Levy Friedman, who teaches a course on contests. Brown University.
She says pageants were once a way for women to enhance academic and career opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have had, but they were originally started by men as a way to make money by exploiting women’s bodies. . In some contests, fame and scholarships awaited the winners. Even a girl from a small town might become successful on stage after winning a beauty pageant. Now that barriers to employment and college education have eased, women don’t need a contest to take those steps, Levy-Friedman said. However, in recent years, participation in the contest has declined.
more:How the 1968 Miss America protests brought the women’s movement to national attention
Viewer ratings have plummeted, and competitions that were once widely televised are no longer broadcast. The pageant has come under a wave of criticism for appearing to focus too much on women’s looks and bodies, and has undergone several changes over the years, including the introduction of all-female judges in pageants such as Miss Universe. has led to a rebrand.
The industry has shifted gears a bit.
In 2018, then-Miss America president and former titleholder Gretchen Carlson announced that the organization would eliminate the swimsuit judging. “We’re not a beauty pageant anymore. We’re competitors,” she told Good Morning America. The focus shifted to on-stage interviews with participants.
Miss USA is a separate competition and still has a swimsuit round. At the local level, contests for young girls and women across the country are divided into various categories, with some so-called “glamorous pageants” focusing on physical beauty, and others with an emphasis on interviews and scholarship awards. There are things that I have placed.
Today, “there’s a lot more emphasis on, ‘This is for women, not for the male gaze,'” Levy Friedman said. “While sexism seems to be decreasing on the ground, I don’t think the public perception has changed.”
Experts say beauty pageants can have a negative impact on the mental health and body image of participants as well as spectators.
Brandin Churchill, a professor of resource economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in a study published last year found that increased media coverage of pageant winners in their home states and body image issues among young girls in those states. found that there was a correlation between the increase in 1990s and early 2000s.
“This is sending out a pretty strong signal about what an ideal body shape is, as opposed to what an individual sees when they look in the mirror,” Churchill said.
The study found that in the home states of Miss America or Miss USA winners, media coverage of the pageant has increased, and at the same time young women and girls are trying to lose weight or have a lopsided body shape. It was found that people are more likely to report that they are present. An image of their weight. Teenage girls were also 5% more likely to report taking steps to lose or maintain weight. The results were more pronounced in the South and Midwest, Churchill said.
Participants from young girls to adult women from all over the United States participate in the contest. Participants wear elaborate costumes and makeup from an early age. As she gets older, Levy-Friedman said, hair extensions, fake nails and even dental veneers become more effective. Some girls are told that they are beautiful even though they are far from who they really are.
“I think that kind of dissonance is potentially very harmful,” Levy Friedman said.
Miss USA 2019 Chesley Christ died by suicide in 2022, and her family said she was battling depression behind the scenes of winning the pageant.
Why contest culture persists in many communities
Still, contest participants often cite the benefits of participating, including improved public speaking skills, self-confidence, and the chance to receive academic scholarships and professional connections, Levy-Friedman said. Stated.
The Miss America and Miss USA organizations did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but their websites say they provide opportunities for women to empower themselves and become leaders. ing.
“We celebrate beauty, intelligence, and empowerment,” the Miss USA website says.
Leilani Redd is a 28-year-old Californian who has been competing in pageants since she was six years old. She now works full time as a coach, training school-age girls in aspects of competition, such as wardrobe and pageant routines. She said her students come from all over the country, and pageant culture is especially strong in southern states like Alabama and Texas.
“As a child, I was a very shy child,” she said. “It gave me confidence that I didn’t think I could have while performing.”
Red said she has never felt the negative self-esteem pressures inherent in the industry, but she knows her experience is not universal. She said that her body is in no way similar to the other girls competing, but that she has “never once felt uncomfortable.” I’ve never wanted to change the way I look.”
Her students may end up competing on the national stage, but their path is wide open, and many pursue other opportunities and enjoy the same glamor as other kids who play sports. will handle. Still, Redd said it’s hard to imagine there will be this much disruption in the industry.
“There are a lot of girls working for the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA titles, so it’s a little tough right now to see them step down,” Redd said. “It’s a little heartbreaking to see it fall apart at this point, wondering what the future holds for these girls.”
