The Miss America Pageant is a cornerstone of American culture, and as times change, pageantry is evolving as well. Since ditching the swimwear portion of the competition and making the shift to not include looks as criteria, pageants have become more inclusive and can provide great benefits. Recent winners of state and national pageants include plus-sized women, members of the LGBT+ community, women of a variety of different ethnicities, those involved in the armed forces, and the first-ever autistic woman to compete in a national pageant. The Miss America Foundation is one of the largest providers of scholarships for young women, with an emphasis on supporting more women in STEM.

Judges look for educational, personal, service, and leadership qualities in a modern pageant queen. Pageants have evolved to become much more than a looks competition, and many contestants find the process to be empowering. Pageants can help build confidence, public speaking skills, poise, and good sportsmanship from a young age. They also instill a sense of healthy competition, according to Miss Texas USA director and president Gail Clark. “You know a young woman gets it when she realizes she is not competing with the other contestants. She is competing with herself, improving herself,” said Clark.

The main criticism of pageants is that they are built on sexist traditions of judging women based on looks, objectifying women, and reinforcing unrealistic stereotypes. However, as we’ve seen in recent years, there is no cookie-cutter pageant queen and earning a title goes far beyond looks. Community service, passion for a cause, and unique talents all factor into winning a crown. The question portion especially gives young women a platform to advocate for issues they are passionate about and use their voices. Rather than degrading, women have found pageants to be an empowering experience that lifts others up.

Links:

https://web.s.ebscohost.com/pov/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=14e83bdc-d35b-4700-b508-2e0dea003af6%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9cG92LWxpdmU%3d#AN=108460458&db=pwh

https://web.s.ebscohost.com/pov/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=14e83bdc-d35b-4700-b508-2e0dea003af6%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9cG92LWxpdmU%3d#db=pwh&AN=108460457

https://www.therichest.com/lifestyle/6-pageant-contestants-who-broke-the-beauty-queen-stereotype/

https://kidsformal.com/2019/03/13/benefits-of-child-beauty-pageants/#:~:text=Building%20confidence%20starts%20at%20a,other%20kids%20their%20own%20age.

https://www.misstexasusa.com/benefits/