1,721,147 research outputs found
Charlotte Simmen
No full textSimmen in swimming suit standing on stage with 3 men. On verso: 12-'52. [photo. Stamp]. Charlotte Simmen. Otis Douglas.Charlotte Simmen placed 4th place in the 1951 Miss America Pageant
University of California Press eScholarship editions in process
No full textSarah Banet-Weiser complicates the standard feminist take on beauty pageants in this intriguing look at a hotly contested but enduringly popular American ritual. She focuses on the Miss America pageant in particular, considering its claim to be an accurate representation of the diversity of contemporary American women. Exploring the cultural constructions and legitimations that go on during the long process of the pageant, Banet-Weiser depicts the beauty pageant stage as a place where concerns about national identity, cultural hopes and desires, and anxieties about race and gender are crystallized and condensed. The beauty pageant, she convincingly demonstrates, is a profoundly political arena deserving of serious study.Drawing on cultural criticism, ethnographic research, and interviews with pageant participants and officials, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World illustrates how contestants invent and reinvent themselves while articulating the female body as a national body. Banet-Weiser finds that most pageants are characterized by the ambivalence of contemporary "liberal" feminism, which encourages individual achievement, self-determination, and civic responsibility, while simultaneously promoting very conventional notions of beauty. The book explores the many different aspects of the Miss America pageant, including the swimsuit, the interview, and the talent competitions. It also takes a closer look at some extraordinary Miss Americas, such as Bess Myerson, the first Jewish Miss America; Vanessa Williams, the first African American Miss America; and Heather Whitestone, the first Miss America with a disability
Student Laura Harmon headed to Miss America Pageant Sept. 15
No full textStudent Laura Harmon headed to Miss America Pageant Sept. 15
University of North Dakota student and Grand Forks native Laura Harmon is loving her new role as a pageant queen.
A senior majoring in environmental geography, she juggles classes and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority events all while competing for the title of Miss America. This is the fourth year Harmon has competed in pageantry.
As Miss Grand Forks, Harmon was up against 21 other hopefuls looking to represent the state as Miss North Dakota. After winning the preliminary swimsuit and preliminary talent portions of the competition, Harmon was crowned Miss North Dakota last June.
Harmon first became interested in the Miss America Pageant after one of her sorority sisters had competed. She encouraged Harmon, saying she would be perfect for the pageant after hearing her singing skills at Kappa Alpha Theta sorority events.
Competing has been nothing but a positive experience for Harmon.
I\u27ve learned a lot about perseverance and personal growth, said Harmon. I\u27ve discovered who I want to be.
During the Miss America competition, Harmon will be singing opera for her talent and her platform will be Energy Kids: Raising Responsible Energy Users. As an environmental geography major, Laura takes great pride in the environment and is passionate about the outdoors.
Her goal is to visit schools throughout the state and teach kids the importance of sustainable living patterns. She will also use her platform to discuss some important environmental changes taking place in our state, such as those associated with natural resources exploration in western North Dakota.
Being part of this competition, Harmon realized there are many people out there that want to serve their communities.
People are willing to give themselves to other people, she said.
The Miss America Pageant will take place on Sept. 15 in Atlantic City, N.J. Since 1921, this pageant has served as a scholarship program for young, ambitious college women who are looking to make a difference at local, state and national levels.
The Miss America Organization has partnered with Children\u27s Miracle Network Hospitals to raise funds and awareness for children\u27s hospitals throughout the United States. Contestants competing in Miss America-sponsored pageants are now expected to raise a minimum of $850 in donations as part of the local, state and national contests for Children\u27s Miracle Network Hospitals and the Miss America Scholarship Fund.
Kate Menzies
University and Public Affairs student write
The Miss America Pageant\u27s Influence on the Self-Construction of its 1985 Contestants
Get PDFThe author was a contestant in the 1985 Miss America Pageant, choosing to research how participants of that event made sense of their participation and how that participation affected their construction of themselves. Eleven state representatives were interviewed, including the winning Miss America and her 2nd and 4th runners-up. Interviewees were chosen upon consideration of region represented and final placement. This qualitative study utilized a semi-structured style of interviewing and protocol of 15 questions. Contestants’ narratives were analyzed within the frameworks of objectification theory and patriarchy. Results indicated that making sense of the Miss America experience could be a lengthy process, a struggle impeded by post-pageant rumor and innuendo. Contestants concluded that the Miss America Pageant is about big business with politics playing a large part in the competitive outcome. Contestants are the commodity. Also, the Pageant’s effect on how contestants constructed themselves has been pervasive and long-lasting. Its narrow script for femininity has influenced what contestants define as appropriate dress, conduct, appearance, body type and image. Respondents report a present identification with their former contestant status and will still practice performances of self in uncomfortablesituations. A state title is perceived as having great cache’ in the marriage market. This study concluded that participation in the Pageant has provided some contestants with an identity, one they continue to use in defining themselves. Some contestants also continue to perform themselves as Miss America contestants and to compare themselves to the feminine ideal. Furthermore, participants construct themselves as privileged and as losers. The struggle between these two constructions can take years for a contestant to reconcile, if they ever do. Effects include a proliferation of self-esteem loss and emotional bankruptcy among contestants, regardless of placing. This catch-22 situation puts contestants in a situation in which there are no ultimate winners
The Miss America Pageant Should Restore Prioritizing the Evening Gown Segment
Get PDFEvening gown in pageants, as in society, has always represented a woman\u27s way of expressing her personality and femininity through fashion. Miss America\u27s attempt to stop requiring evening gowns implies that wearing formal gowns does not equate to being a modern, empowered woman.
Instead of attempting to erase the evening gown as an outdated part of a modern woman’s wardrobe, the Miss America pageant should restore the original gown segment and use this opportunity to reshape America’s perspective on how modern women can choose to wear gowns and still be empowered.
https://keishelawilliams.wordpress.com
Social Stereotyping and Self-Esteem of Miss America Pageant Contestants
Get PDFMiss America Pageant contestants (MAPCs) have been negatively stereotyped socially for their perceived lack of intelligence and nonconformance to feminist gender stereotypes of women. Stereotypes could affect an individual\u27s social psyche and establish stigma, which could prevent a group from achieving their full potential. Stereotypes could also result in women having mental health disorders, low self-esteem, a decrease in self-efficacy, body image dissatisfaction, and eating disorders. The problem this study addressed was that women who participate in the Miss America Organization (MAO) preliminary pageants risk social stigma for taking part in a seemingly nonfeminist activity. Intercultural communication research (ICR) was the theoretical framework utilized to understand the role of cultural stereotypes, prejudice in communication, and self-perception among MAPCs. The main research question examined how local preliminary MAPC\u27s decide to participate in pageantry in relation to their beliefs about stereotypes of MAPCs. For this multiple case study, a sample of MAPCs (n =5) from a Southeastern state was recruited to participate in interviews and provided narrative data that was coded and analyzed for themes of stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. The key findings from this study revealed that the participants believed that societal stereotypes of MAPCs still exist, but the stereotypes did not influence participants\u27 self-esteem, self-efficacy, and their decisions to compete and represent their social platform. The results also revealed a need for societal education about MAO pageant system\u27s mission. Positive social change can come from understanding the MAPC subculture to dispel societal stereotypes and through presenting MAPCs\u27 goals as social change agents
Jacquelyn Mayer with Bert Parks and Miss Texas 1962
No full textJacquelyn Mayer with Bert Parks and Penny Rudd, Miss Texas 1962, at the Miss America pageant, 1962. Mayer, a Sandusky, Ohio, native, won the Miss America pageant that year and became Miss America for 1963
Jacquelyn Mayer in her Miss America talent gown
No full textJacquelyn Mayer in her orange chiffon Miss America talent gown, 1963. An unidentified woman is on the left. Mayer was from Sandusky, Ohio, and won the titles of Miss Vacationland and Miss Ohio to qualify for the Miss America pageant. She won the Miss America pageant in 1962 and served as Miss America 1963
Jacquelyn Mayer posing for a Pepsi-Cola publicity shot
No full textJacquelyn Mayer posing for a Pepsi-Cola publicity shot, 1963. She was from Sandusky, Ohio, and won the titles of Miss Vacationland and Miss Ohio to qualify for the Miss America pageant. She won the Miss America pageant in 1962 and served as Miss America 1963
Jacquelyn Mayer modeling fashions
No full textJacquelyn Mayer modeling fashions, 1963. She was from Sandusky, Ohio, and won the titles of Miss Vacationland and Miss Ohio to qualify for the Miss America pageant. She won the Miss America pageant in 1962 and served as Miss America 1963
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