Positives in Pageants
Wichmann 2
Is it a way of earning money or throwing it away? Is it a way to build a person up or to tear them down? Is it a way to be a role model or a way to be ridiculed? These questions can most commonly be heard when discussing beauty pageants. There is an ongoing controversy about the benefits or harm that beauty pageants can cause to their contestants. There are two-sides to every controversy, but in the matter of pageants the benefits of entering one easily outweighs the negatives. The debate about beauty pageants is as varied as the kind of beauty pageants which are in existence today. Pageants go anywhere from the traditional late teens, early twenties, type pageant; to children’s pageants; to pageants for the disabled; and pageants for everything in between. No matter what kind of pageant it is, beauty is always a factor in determining the pageant’s outcome. That does not necessarily mean exterior beauty though; some pageants focus on inner beauty and strength. The most well known pageant in the United States is of course the Miss America pageant. It dates back all the way to the year of 1921 and was held in Atlantic City. This pageant focuses on unmarried, childless women, between the ages of 17 and 24. The Miss America pageant consists of talent swimwear, eveningwear, and interview portions. A contestant must win a variety of lower level pageants in order to compete at this level. The Miss America organization is a large contributor for granting scholarships to young women. They offer over $40 million in cash and tuition scholarship assistance
Wichmann 3 each year to their contestants. This is a massive plus to the contestants and is one of the many reasons that pageants are a great thing for young women to enter in. Women of today are entering pageants for financial purposes. Statistics show that the Miss America organization assists 12,000 young women in one year alone to attain their undergraduate or graduate degree.
Is it a way of earning money or throwing it away? Is it a way to build a person up or to tear them down? Is it a way to be a role model or a way to be ridiculed? These questions can most commonly be heard when discussing beauty pageants. There is an ongoing controversy about the benefits or harm that beauty pageants can cause to their contestants. There are two-sides to every controversy, but in the matter of pageants the benefits of entering one easily outweighs the negatives. The debate about beauty pageants is as varied as the kind of beauty pageants which are in existence today. Pageants go anywhere from the traditional late teens, early twenties, type pageant; to children’s pageants; to pageants for the disabled; and pageants for everything in between. No matter what kind of pageant it is, beauty is always a factor in determining the pageant’s outcome. That does not necessarily mean exterior beauty though; some pageants focus on inner beauty and strength. The most well known pageant in the United States is of course the Miss America pageant. It dates back all the way to the year of 1921 and was held in Atlantic City. This pageant focuses on unmarried, childless women, between the ages of 17 and 24. The Miss America pageant consists of talent swimwear, eveningwear, and interview portions. A contestant must win a variety of lower level pageants in order to compete at this level. The Miss America organization is a large contributor for granting scholarships to young women. They offer over $40 million in cash and tuition scholarship assistance
Wichmann 3 each year to their contestants. This is a massive plus to the contestants and is one of the many reasons that pageants are a great thing for young women to enter in. Women of today are entering pageants for financial purposes. Statistics show that the Miss America organization assists 12,000 young women in one year alone to attain their undergraduate or graduate degree.