Abstract:
Beauty pageants have been a part of American culture for decades, at some times highly revered and at others harshly criticized. They have inspired both academic analysis and entertainment media in the form of books, essays, reality television shows and fictional movies, along with televised broadcasts and other media. These media representations of beauty pageants and pageant contestants are often more familiar to people than the realities of pageant competition, and exposure to such media can create stereotypes, beliefs and perceptions about beauty pageants that are not representative of the actual experiences of pageant contestants and participants. This project explores several facets of beauty pageant competitions in America, using historical, personal and social perspectives to examine the potential differences between attitudes toward and perceptions of beauty pageants between those who have participated in them and those who have not.
