Not having watched the Miss America Pageant in perhaps fifty or more years (aside from an occasional clip of the winner weeping), I don't suppose I am qualified to have much of an opinion about either the old ways or the new way. But it strikes me the new "non-pageant" may be unintentionally hilarious. I'm not exactly sure why, but the first thought I had upon hearing the announcement was of a report I saw many years ago about the number one song in China at the time being "The Workers Gloriously Carry Manure to the Fields." Perhaps we have reached the point where it just doesn't make sense to reform a beauty pageant into something politically correct.This change in format signals the end of the swimsuit portion of the competition. In its place, each candidate will participate in a live interactive session with the judges, where she will highlight her achievements and goals in life and how she will use her talents, passion, and ambition to perform the job of Miss America.The former evening gown competition will now give participants the freedom to outwardly express their self-confidence in evening attire of their choosing while discussing how they will advance their social impact initiatives. Talent, which has always been a distinguishing element of Miss America, will remain a highlight of the competition.“We are no longer a pageant. Miss America will represent a new generation of female leaders focused on scholarship, social impact, talent, and empowerment” said Gretchen Carlson, Chair of the Board of Trustees, adding ”We’re experiencing a cultural revolution in our country with women finding the courage to stand up and have their voices heard on many issues. Miss America is proud to evolve as an organization and join this empowerment movement.”
I do think it is a shame this announcement came out after the end of this year's season of Saturday Night Live. Perhaps we will get their take on what the new Miss America competition will be like next year.
Raber's response was, that if they're doing away with swim suits and evening gowns, why not do away with the entire pageant. I could read this comment a number of ways. I choose to believe he felt that the whole schmeer was sexist and outmoded.
ReplyDeleteThe best commentary ever on pageants, generally, was "Little Miss Sunshine."
I suppose some of the candidates see it as a springboard to bigger and better things, maybe an acting career, or something. I think its pretty lame, swimsuits or not.
ReplyDeleteMy granddaughters have an assortment of cheesy plastic and glitter tiaras, which they wear with everything. At their age it's cute. Goes great with making mud pies. But when people grow up they need to put away childish things.
I don't ever remember watching a MAP. By 1970, I thought beauty pageants were rather silly. I'll admit to enjoying seeing winners Bess Myerson, Mary Ann Mobley, Vanessa Williams during their following careers.
ReplyDeleteWhen Gretchen Carlson, newly head of the pageant committee (or some such title) announced it would be inclusive, I had various thoughts about what that might mean. I'll pass on sharing them here--except to wonder whether trangenders will be on the front line for inclusion.
ReplyDeleteI am with Mr. Raber--better to shut the whole shebang down (and send the archives to Wellesley or Mt. Holyoke for research purposes).
It's interesting that Carlson, who graduated from Stanford, did time at Oxford (studying Virginia Woolf) and is no mean violinist (she soloed with the Minneapolis Symphony while still in grade school) -- and is a former Miss America -- made the Big Time by sitting on a Fox divan between the two male dolts and going, "Oooo, has Pwesdent Obmama messed up again? I fink he has." (And showing a lot of leg; this was Fox, of course.) Now she is trying to turn the Miss America Pageant into the Miss Mensa, Ph.D. pageant. To which I say, You go, Girl. Miss America contestants were never my type.
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ReplyDeleteI guess the stock image of the Miss America pageant viewer is the drooling middle-aged male slob, hyperventilating. Maybe there is some of that, but ever since Marilyn Monroe appeared on the Playboy cover, more risque/explicit material has been widely commercially available to the lecherous male demographic.
ReplyDeleteI heard a discussion of this Miss America topic on one of our local AM talkie stations yesterday which leads me to conclude that women probably are the core audience. Surprisingly to me, the two women in the discussion (one a twenty-something, the other a sensible middle-aged news reporter) thought this development was a bad idea - they said they liked the swimsuit segment.
I don't understand the frame of mind that would induce a young woman to enter a beauty pageant, but there is an element of censoriousness in this decision that I find pretty interesting. If a fit young woman wants to wear a bikini on national TV, and people want to see her in it, the traditional attitude was, Why not? Now it seems to be that's not going to be permitted, or at least it's going to be strongly discouraged. Gretchen Carlson as temperance biddy?
Oh, I understand the mentality. My first reporting job was in a fairly small town across the river from a larger town in another state in a part of the country that thinks it was in the old Confederacy but wasn't. The high school boys could distinguish themselves with sports, but in those pre-Title IX days, a girl could stand out only by becoming Miss Something-or-Other, a possibility that was open here or there every weekend during the summer. Eventually, winners would go on to "state," and if you won "state," the pageant sky was the limit.
ReplyDeleteMiss America has, for many years, been seen as a dumb bimbo contest, and YouTubes of past contestants giving vapid and even incomprehensible answers to stupid questions abound. I think the pageant organizers are getting rid of the cheese cake as a way of making contestants look smarter.
ReplyDeleteThe pageant is already seen as a kind of quaint holdover from the last century.
Transgender women? How could they not dominate in a beauty pageant? Perfectly proportioned artificial enhancements and a lower body fat ratio, plus all the undergirding, waxing and lacquering standard for all contestants.
The Sweet Potato Queens (a very weird group of older women who kinda/sorta parody the Southern beauty pageant thingthing) said they were happy to have transvestite men march in their parades, "but not right BY us," because their legs and famines were so much more attractive than the real women's.
*famines = fannies
DeleteJean, If only.
DeleteJean, that may be true sometimes but, having crossed paths with two transwomen, it seems difficult to overcome mitts the size of breadboxes.
ReplyDeleteNobody's looking' at their hands.
DeleteWhat about their feet?
DeleteI mention feet because there are a number of transvestites in our neighborhood who when dressed up wear high-heeled open-toed sandals. Not a pretty sight, but if MAPs goes inclusive, we'll get used to it.
DeleteAre peep-toed shoes ever a pretty sight? Back in the 1950s, one of our elderly neighbors used to garden in pedal pushers and Cuban-heeled peep-toed espadrilles with white anklets or with her nylons rolled down around her ankles in little donuts. My dad used to say, "Hubba hubba, Noreen's gardening." Noreen always have me lemonade, played the piano, and taught me songs. I loved Noreen, and I thought it was a compliment.
DeleteMaybe the world would be better if there were a pageant that four-year-old girls could judge. My guess is that they might not pick the prettiest, but the most hospitable and lively.
Yes, Jean; four-seven year old little girls would be top-notch.
DeleteAs a child, I loved to examine my aunts' shoes when they came to visit--one was a peep-toe afficianado. She was proud of her small feet and these styles showed them off to perfection...wedgey high heels at one end...and tiny toes peeping out at the other.
In the interminable Communion lines of my childhood, I would sit at the end of the pew and watch the shoes go by.
Hoo, boy, I am tripping in 1959 right now. Ii'm gonna put on an apron and start supper.
DeleteIf you're making 1959 supper, I guess it will be meatloaf and jello?
DeleteTo make a lovely Candlestick Salad, place a slice of canned pineapple on a bed of Iceberg lettuce. Insert the bottom part of a half of a peeled banana in the hole of the pineapple slice so the banana stands upright. Put a little dab of mayonnaise on the tip of the banana as glue to hold the "candle flame" (a maraschino cherry) in place. Voila!
Delete(Kraft Miracle Whip may be substituted for mayonnaise.)
David Nickol! You made laugh so hard I choked on my Spam and Velveeta grilled sandwich. On white bread. With the crusts cut off. Now I need to go make some instant Lipton iced tea.
DeleteThere was, of course, a Seinfeld episode about that.
ReplyDeleteOff topic: At 2 PM, NASA is supposed to break some big news on a discovery made by the Mars Rover. Available on the usual conduits.
ReplyDeleteTHE Rover has documented a significant undulatinh seasonal emission of methane from an ancient lakebed. There are nonbiologic processes that can produce this but bacterial action has not been ruled out. Complex organic molecules have also been detected. As above, nonbiologic possible but biological not ruled out. My guess us nonbiologic but maybe these discoveries can shed some light on the origin of life beyond the usual speculation and handwaving.
DeleteAnother planet for us to ruin?
DeleteYes. That's it. First we have to discover something to ruin before we go ahead and ruin it.
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