8 Pros and Cons of Beauty Pageants

0
6836
8 Pros and Cons of Beauty Pageants

The history of beauty pageants can be traced back to European festivals in the medieval period. Back then, a woman was selected to serve as the May Queen for the English May Day. These celebrations soon became popular across other countries, and other nations like the United States were quick to follow suit. Today, beauty pageants are much more widespread and elaborate, but still serve the same purpose, and that is to identify the most beautiful women in our world.

But although beauty pageants might seem like all butterflies and rainbows, some people beg to disagree. There are countless organizations and individuals who continue to look down upon these events, and for very good reasons. Are you a beauty pageant supporter? Read on to find out.

List of Pros of Beauty Pageants

1. Recognition
Some of the most popular beauty pageants are competitions between representatives of different countries. When a contestant wins one of these pageants, she consequently gives recognition to her country which is an honor and priviledge that many hope to achieve. Many countries that have had their representative win an international pageant have experienced great leaps and bounds in many facets of their economy, with tourism giving the most significant improvement.

2. Diversity
Beauty comes in many different colors and shapes, and that’s one of the things that beauty pageants seek to prove to their viewers. By choosing women from all over the world to share the same stage and show off their natural beauty, people’s eyes are opened to the reality that beauty is diverse, and that the global population itself is composed of countless appearances that are all worth celebrating.

3. Inspiration
Lots of those who watch beauty pageants are young women who look up to the contestants in the competition. By showing them women who are smart, skilled, and poised, they’re given worthy role models that they can pattern their actions after. What’s more, beauty queens also serve as an inspiration for their respective countries and localities as they encourage those in their community to exercise their abilities to bring honor to their place.

4. Advocacies are Highlighted
These days, those who join beauty pageants, especially the big ones, are usually encouraged to support an advocacy that they want to draw attention to should they win the crown. This is particularly advantageous for marginalized people in society as they can be given the chance to get the attention and help they need in order to rise up from their difficulties.

List of Cons of Beauty Pageants

1. Beauty is Limited
While beauty pageants do boast of diversity, this is only apparent with skin and body shape. But mostly, women have to meet a certain criteria when it comes to body fat and height. That said, majority of the viewers are conditioned into thinking that tall and slim are both required to be considered beautiful, which can work against some individuals who don’t see themselves that way. While there are some beauty pageants that are intended for heftier contestants, what many argue is that there should not be a division among these body types. Instead, a single beauty pageant for all kinds of body shapes and sizes should be put together to abolish the feeling of separation between the different kinds of people and beauty present in our world today.

2. Other Skills Aren’t Highlighted
Although beauty pageants do require their participants to have certain skills and talents as part of judging, these aren’t usually highlighted in the crowning event. Commonly, during the crowning ceremony, women are simply tasked to strut on stage in different attires, and are given a single question to answer which might not actually give definition to the other capabilities that they posses. As a result, those who watch end up thinking that beauty is the single most important characteristic that a person should have.

3. Potential Discord
During the last Miss Universe competition, when the announcer gave the wrong name as the winner and took this back just moments later, the respective countrymen of those two women engaged in an online battle which inspired discord. That said, it’s easy to see that beauty pageants can cause arguments between groups of supporters, especially if their bet doesn’t take home the crown.

4. Expensive
What many highlight about beauty pageants is that they are expensive to plan and execute. With this in mind, some can’t help but wonder why that money isn’t simply put to other uses that could directly help people in need instead of using it to create an event that ultimately blinds viewers from what’s truly important. Beauty pageants are not cheap, and when you think about the costs of having one done, it can be hard not to think of the other ways that this money could have been used.