Miss America misses target of promoting merit

For most of my generation, the Miss America scholarship — yes, scholarship — competition is just another television show awash with beautiful women and reality show qualities. Like Groundhog Day, it happens every winter without much notice, and few would call the results newsworthy. Among the friends I asked, few had ever seen the pageant in its entirety. Jennifer Barry of Oklahoma, crowned this year’s winner in January, is certainly no household name. But well-known or not, the pageant is a backward institution of American culture that needs to change.

Despite being a self-proclaimed scholarship competition, the Miss America competition was and is a delicate balancing act. It objectifies women while providing them with exciting educational opportunities and promotes traditional roles while encouraging independence. And Miss America glorifies women’s intellectual capacities while displaying highly stereotypical ideas of female sexuality.

The original Miss America pageant hit the stage in 1921 as a promotional gimmick designed by Atlantic City business owners who hoped to stretch the tourist season until Labor Day. The pageant quickly evolved into a powerful cultural institution. Being crowned the country’s most beautiful woman was a small town girl’s one-way ticket out of domestic dependency and into fame, freedom and limitless opportunity in any field. As ambitious young men aspired to be president of the United States, young girls dreamed of being Miss America.

In 1945, the Miss America pageant became one of the first organizations in the country to offer college scholarships to women. By the 1960s, more than 40 percent of American households tuned in to cheer on their state’s leading lady.

Along with the instant fame came a sizeable cash-in. Miss America 1926 reportedly made more than $100,000 in speaking fees during her reign, which surpassed the annual incomes of Babe Ruth and the U.S. president. Miss America 1984, then-controversial Vanessa Williams, pulled in $125,000 beyond her scholarship winnings in less than 10 months.

Since then, the competition has fallen from its pedestal and become a stale, obligatory U.S. tradition with a sizable but consistently decreasing cash prize of $292,500. In desperation for viewers, the competition now shamelessly appeals to sex with skimpy bikinis in the swimsuit competition and a shortened broadcast length — mostly squeezing the talent portion of the show. The pageant failed to make the airwaves in 2005, and niche channel. Country Music Television will show it in 2006 and 2007.

Unlike most Miss America critics, I am not condemning to extinction this television tradition, which supporters claim is the nation’s most venerable scholarship competition. Instead, I question the legitimacy of the competition itself and the message it sends women, especially young girls.

A scholarship competition should be based primarily on a candidate’s academic and intellectual merits. With Miss America, however, the mini-interview and talent competition seem like mere formalities. This scholarship competition values beauty far beyond intellectual talents and as a result is not about a well-rounded Miss America.

The winner of Miss America receives a scholarship to continue her education, but almost every 2006 finalist tap danced, ballet danced or sang to win. These skills are admirable indeed, but not one of the contestants who advanced to the talent competition was pursuing music or arts-related professions.

This is not to say that Miss America contestants are unintelligent women. They seem bright and ambitious during the three minutes of conversation the audience and judges hear. But the ability to prowl the catwalk in high heels and a bikini has nothing to do with intelligence or scholarship.

To Miss America’s credit, pageant officials introduced a new competition in 1989 called “the platform,” which required contestants to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to a social problem and back it up with community service. Call me crazy, but I would also like to see these talented young women present the ideas behind their service platforms. Barry said her top priority as Miss America will be fighting drunk driving, but viewers saw no presentation given nor articles written on that topic.

The truth is that beautiful bodies and perfect hair take precedence over the supposed scholarly nature of Miss America. If so, then fine. Just don’t call it a scholarship competition.

Jo Kent is a Baker College senior.

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