Miss USA Pageant?

I once MC'd a pageant which awarded the title of Doughnut Queen --- the winner got to sashay up the street at the head of a parade wearing an inner tube with DOUGHNUT QUEEN painted on it in white shoe polish. Don't tell me that's not classy.

At the large CPA firm where I work, one the partners, whom I like and respect very much, won a Miss Something-or-other pageant in her younger days. Heaven knows where she'd be today without that.

LizzieMaine said:

I once MC'd a pageant which awarded the title of Doughnut Queen --- the winner got to sashay up the street at the head of a parade wearing an inner tube with DOUGHNUT QUEEN painted on it in white shoe polish. Don't tell me that's not classy.

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The things people will do for glory and doughnuts...

I always liked pageants as a kid, which is odd because I was never the sort of girl who'd do well. I liked the outfits (where else does one see evening gowns cut down to there in that range of colors, etc) and the theatricality of it. I don't think its become porn; its not even associated very tightly with fashion trends. Its sort of its own brightly colored sideshow world with big silly out of date hair.

To my East Coast childs' eyes it never looked like stuff grown "big girls" really wore; it was BETTER. It was like Barbie. It was very Nashville rather than Hollywood.

Coincidentally there's an article just gone up about how Miss England has banned the swimsuit round in favour of sportswear:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...s-realistic-role-models-end-bikini-round.html

Though the reason is one of my biggest bugbears at the moment...

Getting rid of the bikini round would prove the contest was about 'real women'...'it's not a particularly good image to give out to girls that you've got to be stick thin,' she said.

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Because thin women aren't 'real'?? It drives me mad... and I'm not even thin! But that's a post for another thread.

Miss Sis and I have both been Napier Bathing Belles...but that's a rather different sort of competition. It's not so much a beauty contest (because there's no way I'd win that), but other factors like the vintage quotient of the costume...and a touch of humour doesn't go astray! They had all those past winners who were present up on stage last Feb, and we were an array of ages, heights, weights etc. There's also a concurrent competition for men and a novelty group section. Now that's the only pagent type comp I think I'd ever enter (and certainly the only one I'd ever win!).

Angela Latham has a fascinating look at the first Miss America competition in her book Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls, and Other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s. She makes the point that while the first beauty pagent was being held, Atlantic City had beach dress codes that one could be arrested for violating. The one piece "Annette Kellermans" were still extremely controversial, and there was a lot of debate over what constituted decency.

She covers the arrest of Louise Rosine, a 39 year old larger woman who would not roll her stockings up to cover her knees. It is perhaps a relevant factor that on the day in question, tempereratures rose to great heights (as they had on previous days). Having worn a woollen bathing suit and rolled stockings on a hot day when I was in the Napier pagent, I can testify it is not comfortable (I think I won at least in part because they admired my dedication to authenticity!) In the same newspapers that wrote up her arrest, stories appeared about the "Bathers' Revue" to be held in Atlantic city - a competition (condoned and supported by the civic authorities) to find "America's Most Beautiful Bathing Girl"...the first Miss America pagent. Annette Kellerman herself donated a silver cup, and the second place winner was to be awarded a Kellerman swimsuit.

In the line up of Miss America contestants, one can clearly see stockings rolled below the knees...including those of the winner, Margaret Gorman.

One wonders if Louise appreciated the irony - apparently, had she been a svelte young woman, her bare knees would not have been tolerated, but lauded.

Fleur De Guerre said:

Coincidentally there's an article just gone up about how Miss England has banned the swimsuit round in favour of sportswear:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...s-realistic-role-models-end-bikini-round.html

Though the reason is one of my biggest bugbears at the moment...



Because thin women aren't 'real'?? It drives me mad... and I'm not even thin! But that's a post for another thread.

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I guess real women don't wear bikinis? Or something.

I haven't watched a pageant in decades, but I don't remember the contestants being stick-thin.

I don't think the televised pageants I've seen are about real anything.

Viola said:

I always liked pageants as a kid, which is odd because I was never the sort of girl who'd do well. I liked the outfits (where else does one see evening gowns cut down to there in that range of colors, etc) and the theatricality of it. I don't think its become porn; its not even associated very tightly with fashion trends. Its sort of its own brightly colored sideshow world with big silly out of date hair.

To my East Coast childs' eyes it never looked like stuff grown "big girls" really wore; it was BETTER. It was like Barbie. It was very Nashville rather than Hollywood.

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I totally agree with this! It was so Dolly Parton-esque (whom i LOVED) and just tacky and huge and trashy all at the same time. Still got a soft spot in my heart for it today.

I am not against pageants. In fact our son and daughter were in one as kids. He was more as an escort to a young lady and she won 1st runner up of the town we lived in at the time. They both also modeled for Sears.
My little girl had so many ruffles and bows on her as a kid including Dolly Parton dresses you had to wade thru the lace to find her. I am foofoogal BTW. She is still very feminine. I had 8 brothers and a tomboy. Probably why.

Possibly why I am upset about this. Recently there was also another story about little girls dressed up as Beyonce but more provocative. Where will we go from here?
http://www.lidldollys.com/
tell me that isn't precious.

moving on...

Beyonce's hardly porn?

Viola said:

Beyonce's hardly porn?

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When Beyonce dresses like that and dances like that it is fine, because she is a grown woman. When 7 year olds do it, I really think it crosses the line.

Puzzicato is right. Have you seen the pics of the 7 year olds dancing to the Beyonce song? It's really creepy. It kind of reminds me of Little Miss Sunshine except it isn't funny.

It is an issue and on ABC this morning they had a bit about this.
Even the child specialist was totally in agreement with me with this. The main point he made is parents are not even blinking on this and it scares him.
Me too...

Slippery slope. Like I stated. One does not wear a bikini to a funeral and baby girls should not dress like that. Period.

Time and place.

Foofoogal said:

Even the child specialist was totally in agreement with me with this.

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What would we do without experts?

lol lol
I generally don't put much stock in these types unless of course they think like me.lol