North Star Writers Group

In 1969, feminists protested that year’s Miss America contest and were taunted by pageant advocates waving signs that read, “There’s only one thing wrong with Miss America – she’s beautiful”, and, “Jealousy will get you nowhere.” Thirty-eight years later, the show goes on, and pageants have been accepted by the majority as another silly staple of American culture, too fluffy to be worthy of criticism – except, that is, when winners display less-than-ladylike behavior, as they did this past pageant year (drugs, alcohol and girl-on-girl kisses, oh my!). After happening upon a pageant this past Friday night, however, I believe the debate about the archaic practice of selecting the most beautiful woman of the bunch needs to be reopened.

When I found the pageant on NBC while flipping stations, it was in the throes of its swimsuit competition. The contestants wore two-pieces in identically skimpy cuts but different colors (to showcase their individuality, I suppose). So made-up and sexed-up were the participants that it took me until the next commercial break to discover that it was the Miss Teen USA pageant.

Pageants showcasing the beauty of legal-aged women is unsettling in itself, but showcasing young women aged 15-19 is undeniably creepy. After the swimsuit competition, host Mario Lopez asked judge Joey Lawrence, age 31, his fellow “Dancing with The Stars” alum, if he was able to keep his concentration while watching the ladies onstage.

I remember as a young teenager watching Miss Teen USA with my friends and choosing a favorite to root for to the end, usually the young woman representing my home state of Pennsylvania. Back then, in the early ’90s, pageant directors at least pretended to value intellect and asked the final three girls challenging, relevant questions. Now it appears all pretense of the competition being about anything more than the exterior package has been discarded.

Final questions in 2007, apparently meant to display the ability of the final four contestants to remain poised in front of the crowd and string together a coherent sentence, featured topics as significant as, “What was the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?” and “Paris, Nicole or Lindsay?” (the young woman who answered this question received thunderous applause – and went on to win the competition – when she noted that none of the three made for very good role models). I am not insulting the contestants’ smarts, I believe that many of them are mature, savvy and articulate. They are just not given the chance to show it.

Further proving that beauty trumps brains as well as public service in the pageant world, the winner was given, among other things, an apartment in NYC where she would carry out her beauty queen duties in style – with thousands of dollars in shoes and a $30,000 diamond-encrusted watch. The winner (Hillary Cruz, of Colorado) happened to be 18. But I wonder, what if a 15-year-old had won? Would she have missed an entire year of school? Hired a private tutor? And for all the claims the Miss Universe Organization (which runs Miss Teen USA and is owned by Donald Trump) makes about being a charitable organization that sends its winners out to do public service, they could have given the winner $30,000 to donate to the charity of her choice, as opposed to a watch that costs more than most vehicles.

Some may say, so what? These women choose to be judged, indeed fight for the chance to be judged. They are autonomous enough at their age to decide whether or not they want to compete. I would argue that it’s not about the well-being of the contestants but of the young girls who watch from home and think, “If only I were that beautiful.”

During the contest, a giant cartoon blond woman hanging above the stage shouted written encouragement in talk-bubbles such as “Be confident!” and “Be yourself!” but the message the pageant sends out to young girls is a far cry from acceptance. Instead, it says, “Keep on smiling, even though you were just told you aren’t the prettiest,” as all the women did unanimously when their names were not called. It says, “Forget education, forget making the world a better place, you must spend as much time and money as possible making yourself as beautiful as possible, and then you will be adored.”

Word is that this year will be Miss Teen USA’s last, at least on NBC. For many reasons, I hope so.

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