Pardon Me, Barbie
By Larisa Reznik '98
What do Las Vegas Showgirls, Playboy playmates, exotic dancers, and contestants of the Miss America pageant have in common? They all sell sex. The difference is that show girls, playmates, and exotic dancers do not claim the honor of representing the "American woman", they do not ask to stand for an ideal of beauty and values, as do the Miss America contestants. Yet by parading a scantily clad, plastic body suits across national television while reciting words coached and inculcated into their brains, contestants claim they represent the "American Ideal".

The origin of this popularity contest was the Labor Day Fall Frolic of 1920, in Atlantic City, where a group of business men put an attractive woman in front of the float parade in order to entice tourists. Shortly thereafter, a yearly contest was established, offering readers who sent in pictures of beautiful women a cash prize and trip to Atlantic City. It was Herb Test, a local newspaper man, who said "And let's call her 'Miss America;" And thus started a path of 77 years of women selling themselves to attract audiences.

The criteria for Miss America nominees since the 1920s has changed, but the concept hasn't. Today's Miss America has to be more than just beautiful, she must be accomplished, and support a cause. She must have a platform, a talent, and an ambition. Of course none of those are nearly as significant as the swimsuit competition.

Speaking of the swimsuit competition, this was the first in 77 years where contestants had the option of wearing a one piece or a two piece suit. Of the ten finalists, five wore one piece suits, proving that if women had their way, not all of them would parade in dental floss clothing.

Interview questions were supposed to make the women appear as kindhearted, intelligent human beings. But what I saw was a bunch of overly enthusiastic marionettes, coached to repeat phrases, without registering what they mean. Phrases like "I want to make the world a better place" and "I have confidence in myself" were the best responses. The worst were responses like Miss California's: "I am an expert in my field, and my field is, well, me", and "I support the literacy program (wrist, wrist, elbow, elbow) so I want to distribute a copy of teen magazine to every girl in America." These responses do not convince me that these women have personalities and goals, but rather that they have great coaches. They are taught what to say and when to say it.{stop her? cut rest?}

Little known facts While the videos of contestants dancing, playing sports, and bonding together depict a sisterhood spirit, behind the scenes is a group of ferocious, competitive, spiteful women. Their jealousy for each other stems from the fact that their entire life has been this pageant, they've trained for it, surrendering every other aspect of their life, and/or making it secondary. Many of these women, even former title winners, have stepped forward and described the horrors of pageant life. The pressure to look perfect, to dress perfectly, to have perfect diction and weight. Former pageant participants have described their struggle with eating disorders (bulimia, anorexia, compulsive exercising, etc.) alcohol and drug abuse, as well as dysfunctional personal lives. The obsession with winning drove women to do extreme things like pulling their teeth out and replacing them with dentures, to have that polished smile. Yet every year, millions of people insist that these women should be representing "the American woman."

I'd like to think that the idea Miss America Pageant was founded on is not the idea it represents today. I'd like to say that the Miss America Contestants are not only beautiful, but real women, and are role models because they are intelligent, talented, hard-working individuals. But what I saw on Saturday night were Barbie clones: with too many teeth, a smiling disorder, a vacant expression, and memorized conversations. This may seem "like no big deal, but rather fun and entertaining" said a girl I work with, but this affects everyone. Everyone who plans to have children. I hope that if I have a daughter she won't grow up thinking that the standard of an "American woman" is Miss Illinois (who is the 1997 Miss America), but rather, a scientist, an actress, a physician, an engineer, a doctor, a teacher. These people, who make a difference everyday without glamour, lipstick, or tiaras, are the real heroes; they are the "American woman," and they are beautiful for it. To ask an eighteen year old girl, with an eighteen inch waist, and a platform, a more politically correct question rather than one she cares about, to represent the American woman is simply absurd. To all the Women out there, you are Miss America. To the future generations, I hope that a woman in a business suit will have the country's admiration as much as a woman in a swim suit.