Essay —Beauty Pageants: Rewarding or Degrading?
Prompt: Beauty pageants have been a part of our culture for many years, especially with the Miss
America Pageant, which was first held in Atlantic City in 1921. However, beauty pageants, such as
Miss America, Miss USA, and Miss Universe, have been criticized for a number of years regarding the
way in which the female participants are portrayed, with some critics arguing that these events
objectify and degrade women. The swimsuit competition, in particular, came under scrutiny in 1996. A
televised viewer poll was even held to determine whether or not the swimsuit competition should be
continued, and the majority of viewers voted to keep it. What is your opinion on beauty pageants? Do
you feel that they are demeaning to women, or do you feel that these pageants provide good
opportunities for the winners to get immersed in community involvement? In a well-developed essay,
argue your position on the issue of beauty pageants. Remember to provide facts and examples to
support your argument.
Response:
Beauty pageants have been part of America’s culture for decades.
Women, teenagers, and children all over the United States prepare for these
pageants every day. Many have debated whether these pageants reward women
or degrade women. Beauty pageants are rewarding for women because they help
in the community and promote problem awareness, the contestants learn many
useful skills to use throughout their lives, and the winners earn scholarships to
gain an education.
Beauty pageants are rewarding for women because they get to help out in
the community, and they promote problem awareness. Most beauty pageants
require at least three hours of service. The Miss West Point pageant requires
three service hours within the city of West Point. Contestants have to put
together a presentation to explain their project. The presentation shows the
judges how good their public speaking skills are and how much time, effort, and
heart they put into their project. The Miss America program requires contestants
to do service and have a platform. A platform is an issue in which the contestant
cares deeply about and has relevance to our country. Whoever wins the title of
Miss America receives many opportunities to make our country more familiar
with the issue she feels so deeply about. The contestants get to better the
country and make an American issue recognized. In the process of these two
tasks, they are also learning and practicing public speaking skills.
Beauty pageants are rewarding for women because they learn many useful
skills to use throughout their lives. One very important skill for women to learn
is interviewing. The contestants in pageants are interviewed in two ways. The
first way is the formal pageant interview. The interview portion of the pageant is
the most important. Interviewing teaches contestants how to think on their feet,
how to enunciate, how to portray their thoughts and feelings appropriately, and
how to remain calm under pressure. The second way they are interviewed is
indirect; it is how they make a good impression. They need to learn how to carry
themselves confidently and portray their personality in an appropriate way.
Throughout a person’s life she will be interviewing; whether it is for a job or
just meeting a new person, learning interview skills is important for everyone to
know.
Another important skill is learning to be confident with what you have
and who you are. Girls in perfect physical condition who don’t show themselves
to be comfortable easily lose to girls who have a little extra here and there but
who show themselves like they are living their dreams. Strutting on a stage in
front of hundreds of people is not easy to do. It takes courage just to walk on the
stage. Answering questions, participating in a fitness routine, smiling, walking,
performing a talent, and looking comfortable takes a complete change in you.
The girls have to stop judging themselves and start accepting who they are.
Once this task has been accomplished, it should not matter to them if they win
or lose because learning to accept themselves is more valuable than any tiara.
Another great skill that is essential in a beauty pageant is public speaking.
Throughout our lives we will be faced with the challenge of speaking in front of
crowds. For some this skill comes naturally, but for others it is a very nerveracking and humiliating task. Most women who compete in pageants haven’t
been born with impressive public speaking skills. They have had to practice
pronunciation, tone, enunciation, how to express themselves appropriately, how
to present themselves professionally, and so forth. Rome wasn’t built in a day,
and public speaking skills aren’t possessed in one either. It takes weeks, even
months to get comfortable in front of crowds, and you can never get too
comfortable. Throughout a beauty pageant queen’s reign she is faced with many
public speaking opportunities. The skills she possesses will either make her
speech or break it. Public speaking skills aren’t only essential for beauty
pageant contestants; they are essential for all people. Many great skills can
come from being in a beauty pageant. Along with the great skills that are gained
is the opportunity to receive an educational scholarship.
Local and national beauty pageant contestants have the chance to compete
for thousands of dollars in scholarship money. The Miss America pageant is
responsible for providing more than $45 million in scholarship money, which is
available to over 12,000 women that compete in the state, local and national
pageants. For women that don’t have many options for furthering their
education pageants can be a great way for them to go to college and pursue a
career. Pageants can be very costly if you make them costly; however, they are
thousands of dollars cheaper than college. Organizations, such as Miss America,
AJM Scholarship Foundation, and Miss America’s Outstanding Teen provide
educational scholarships for the winners to receive an education past a high
school diploma. Many local beauty pageants aren’t considered to be beauty
pageants; they consider themselves scholarship pageants because the score
breakdown is based more on talent, public speaking, and service projects more
than physical fitness. Beauty isn’t a part of the score.
Some may argue that beauty pageants portray a false image for women. It
has been debated that these pageants cause everyday women to become
anorexic and bulimic to look thin. When it’s really thought about, are these
women too skinny, or is America too fat? A woman that is 5’4” tall should
weigh between 108 pounds to 145 pounds. Sadly, the average American female
weighs an extraordinary 163 pounds. Fitness is not the biggest part of the score,
but it is the one that gets the most criticism. In beauty pageants that have a
scholarship involved, fitness is a portion of the score. People say that fitness
shouldn’t determine college scholarships. Do people say that about the high
school athletes that get scholarships to college? Colleges accept athletes for
scholarships based on their playing well on their school’s basketball/ football/
golf/cheerleading/tennis team. Is it really wrong for these women to receive a
scholarship, too? These women aren’t portraying a false image for women; they
are portraying a healthier image for women.
Beauty pageants have been part of America’s culture for decades.
Worldwide, these pageants are watched live and on television to see the woman
who will win the crown. Viewers have become skeptical as to whether these
pageants and the women who are competing in them portray degrading material
rather than uplifting material. Beauty pageants are rewarding for women
because they help in the community and promote problem awareness, the
contestants learn many useful skills to use throughout their lives, and the
winners earn scholarships to gain an education.