How pageants promote superficial beauty

The 91st annual Miss America beauty pageant kicked off at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. on Sept. 9. Since its advent in 1921, this iconic contest has attracted some of the nation’s most beautiful women to display their alluring appearances and wonderful talents in front of millions of viewers.

This year’s winner, Cara Mund, became the first contestant from North Dakota to take home the tiara. Mund’s claim to fame featured a self-choreographed routine to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel,” confident answers to questions regarding political issues and, of course, her astonishing beauty.

The contest has received criticism over the years, specifically for its apparently distorted views on the concept of “beauty.” In our current society, many prominent figures look to increase the importance of inner beauty and denounce the superficial perception that looks are of paramount importance.

In a fruitless effort to combat these criticisms, the pageant strives to implement polarizing political questions to quiz the contestants on their knowledge of contemporary issues.

Mund, the gorgeous victor, along with the other contestants, was posed a series of questions involving a surplus of political topics such as: President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Va. and Russia’s potential interference revolving around this past election. There was a strong stench of irony in the air as Mund began to plead her case about how the U.S. has made a terrible mistake in vacating the Paris Agreement, just moments after she had participated in the crowd favorite—the bikini contest.

“There is evidence that climate change is existing, so whether you believe it or not, we need to be at that table,” said Mund.

We have all seen the videos documenting the hilarious attempts by our country’s prettiest to stumble upon a coherent answer to these seemingly impossible questions that, in reality, have absolutely nothing to do with the core concepts at the origin of the contest.

No matter how much the contest is changed, for example the addition of these strenuous questions and the often bizarre “talent” section, it remains transparent that Miss America continues to glorify counterfeit beauty.

It is rather clear, and should be noticed, that these women maintain fantastic appearances. But the fake tans, teeth, hair and other artificial supplements create impossible and inappropriate standards for young women across the world.

It is difficult to denounce the pageant entirely, for there are many people across the nation who still sincerely adore the spirit of the contest. Compared to our nation’s other, more intriguing traditions and stories however, the pageant seems a bit outdated and irrelevant. In an age of plus size models and ‘big-is-beautiful’ promotions, not only have certain people lost interest, but they have become legitimately offended by the contest’s values and premise.

The 92nd Miss America beauty contest will surely mimic the unconventional political debates of this past year, and once again attempt to capture the eye of the viewer with its supposed balance of beauty, intelligence and cordiality.

The question is, does anybody still care?