The Miss America 2015 Pageant recently proclaimed its winner: Miss New York, Kira Kazantsev. Her excitement and shock was seen by millions of viewers as she walked to receive her title. This honor includes a crown, flowers, scholarships, appearances and fame until the next year’s competition.
The 88th Miss America Pageant had women work for the title through a series of competitions. After winning a state pageant, the women then moved to the more intense national competition of talent, lifestyle and fitness measured by the swimsuit portion, private interviews and, finally, on-stage questions. This national judging process is the same format for both the preliminary and final judging, but the score is changed and determines top finishers in each section.
According to missamerica.org, the scoring for the preliminary portion centers around talent, which is scored the highest at 35 percent. The private interview follows at 25 percent, the evening wear at 20 percent, the lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit is 15 percent and the on-stage question is only scored at 5 percent of the whole preliminary competition.
“I do think that the confidence aspect of [the competition] would be empowering to women, but then I also think it’s contradictory by judging them just based off their looks and whatever talent they bring forward,” said Brittany Pulido, a junior social work major.
However, these pageants do not just start at the Miss America level. Whether at the parents’ urgings or a joint decision between child and parent, pageants aimed at young girls are still popular today. Television shows such as “Toddlers and Tiaras” portray a glimpse into the world of very competitive children and their parents who aid in their success and failures.
“I watched ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ a few times,” said Pulido. “I felt it was really inappropriate for little girls to be wearing that much makeup, extensions and veneers.”
While that is a more extreme case of younger pageant competitors, it still reveals the harsh reality of beauty pageants. The judges and the viewers are primarily judging the physical appearance of the young competitors, even if that is the very thing officials say is avoided.
The Miss America website states that it seeks “Style, Service, Scholarship and Success” in its competitors, promoting confidence in women to help them achieve their goals as well as scholarships.
“I think [scholarships] are a positive reinforcement,” said Mikaela Betts, a junior allied health major. “… So if they can get some scholarship money back, they can pursue a career in their education or finance a business they want to do, which would be great.”
Although pageants frequently have a bad name, there is good that can come from them. They are a big part of American culture and continue to influence both competitors and their viewers. Camille Mariano, a junior applied health major, mentions that pageants have become an interesting part of culture because they bring many different kinds of women together for one competition. These ladies bring their talents, goals, accomplishments and diverse personalities together, inspiring other women and girls to go after what they believe in.
“[Pageants] have obviously done something to shed a positive light on [the diversity] of our culture,” remarks Mariano. “I admire that, after 88 years, they encourage women to go after this title. They have to have drives and goals that girls can look up to in this kind of world.”
While perhaps not a necessary aspect of the culture, pageants show a side of confidence that is rarely seen nowadays. The scoring may not be as focused on inward appearance as much as outward, but sometimes good things come from blurred ideas.
The idea of confidence and the way it is shown through these girls and women is an inspiration to everyday life. Mariano explained that her grandmother’s sister was a pageant queen. Even in her older age, she portrays her confidence from that time, carried throughout her life.
The confidence these women show on stage should not stop there, but be displayed when going to the store or meeting new people. The Miss America Pageant has been making its mark of confidence on women since 1921 and continues into 2014. This is evidence that these women inspire others to build their confidence within themselves and look to a brighter future.
“it builds up a culture of girls looking up to women who have the confidence to be in these pageants, the confidence to go after what they really want and just being able to put themselves out there,” said Mariano.