Are beauty pageants outdated?

Vic (No)

It’s easy to criticize beauty pageants for celebrating outdated, narrow beauty standards for women. Historically, the premise of the beauty pageant 'diminishes the value of intelligence, talent, and reinforces gender stereotypes, suggesting that a woman’s worth is determined by her physical attributes rather than her achievements or character.' Yet, the glamor of the beauty pageant continues to captivate audiences, arguably providing a platform to individuals who, without a pageant, would be less likely to obtain. Just because this manifestation of female beauty has been co-opted by the patriarchy and rendered the ‘only’ way to be feminine in history, shouldn’t detract from how pageants celebrate this beauty. 

As society embraces diversity and inclusivity, pageants are also modernizing. Miss Universe opening up to contestants of all sizes and genders worldwide has been pivotal in dismantling the idea that feminine beauty is white, with contestants from non-white backgrounds taking the crown. Furthermore, the global pageant’s inclusion of transgender contestants makes the beauty pageant scene more progressive than the Olympics by championing the idea that trans women are women. 

Miss Universe is now owned by Anne Jakkaphong, a Thai businesswoman who’s also transgender—emblematic of the shift in the competition’s embrace of inclusivity. Under Jakkaphong, the competition has finally opened to married, divorced, or pregnant contestants, opening the doors for a more diverse group of women to participate in this competition. This new manager has also dismantled the criteria around body size, empowering a community of people who enjoy pageantry but have previously been excluded from participating in the world. Miss Universe 2023 was an example of these changes, including the pageant's first ‘plus size’ model championing body diversity. 

Sam (Yes)

The rules of many beauty pageants are antiquated and overly exclusionary. The Miss International Pageant, for example, requires contestants to be between 19 and 30 years old, single, never married, and childless. Other pageants have rules that ban transgender women and people shorter than 5’4” from competing. Clearly, many standards in place make beauty pageants inappropriate for modern society. However, there is hope for the evolution of beauty pageants. While uncommon, contestants have acted as trailblazers for more inclusivity in the beauty pageant world. 

While beauty pageants showcase the well-roundedness of the contestants, including their intellect and philanthropic values, the core of the pageants revolves around a narrow conception of beauty. Beauty is a subjective concept that varies between cultures. Beauty pageants mainly uphold a Western beauty standard, favoring Eurocentric facial features, long, flowy hair, and tall, slender body types. These standards also affect the young girls who view the pageants, who may develop fixations on physical appearance and unrealistic expectations.

Beauty pageants can give contestants joy and purpose, but they can also leave them with lifelong mental health issues. Studies have found that women who competed in beauty pageants as children suffer from eating disorders and depression at higher rates than women who did not participate in such pageants. The pressure to achieve perfection and the constant comparisons to others can cause contestants to feel as if they are not good enough as they are. Low self-esteem has detrimental effects on people’s overall well-being. For example, it may lead to self-harming behaviors and problems maintaining healthy relationships.