If you are like me, you probably watch beauty pageants, then shake your head and wonder what on earth the judges are thinking. Okay, beauty does play a very big role when it comes to the pageants after all, but isn’t there more to be “the best” and “most desirable” than just looks alone?
Beautiful girls have long held the stereotype of being dumb. It seems like society has programmed us to believe females are either beautiful or brainy, but not both. In some ways, these beauty pageants reinforce these beliefs.
Take Miss America, for example. Contestants are certainly graded on beauty, but other factors are also supposed to matter such as the talent portion and interview questions. The answers to some of the questions are down right embarrassing. How often do you see a beautiful contestant who is also self assured and able to confidently and intelligently deliver a rational reply to an interview question?
Granted, the women are young and nervous. However, these are supposed to be the crème de la crème that have risen through the ranks of lesser pageants. Should more focus be on brains rather than beauty? Of course it isn’t now. All you have to do is take a look at the pageant circuit for babies and toddlers to see that. Starting at a very young age, girls are awarded prizes for being the “most beautiful.”
Is there anything wrong with awarding beauty in our culture? Only the fact that it gives our young girls an unattainable goal to strive for, and one that, even if achieved, is not all that rewarding. Can being beautiful put food on the table or pay the rent? Girls today need to know they are beautiful, even if they do have a few extra pounds, and, even if they haven’t undergone plastic surgery by the age of 20.
Some things are more important than being beautiful, like being brainy. And as long as it is all kept in perspective, then I guess if you have outstanding looks, you might as well earn a reward for it!
Credit to: davhor
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