When I think of beauty pageants, my mind automatically goes to Miss United States (clips from Miss Congeniality pop into my head when I think of this) and Miss America. As well as know, Miss America has five rounds; personal interview, talent, lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit, evening wear and onstage question. Miss United States has four rounds; personal interview, swimsuit and fitness, evening wear and onstage question.
When we started the discussion, I had no idea how deep it would travel, we covered everything from pageants to Little Miss Sunshine, to Dove commercials and anything in between.
Pageants are not for everyone. What I mean by that, is that you have to be comfortable in order to do a pageant. I for one don't think I could compete in a pageant because of what they have come to symbolize, but that is just my personal preference and I am in no way shape or form trying to say pageants are a bad thing.
I want to talk specifically about the sections of the competitions that I have in bold. Miss America states that women are judged on overall physical fitness. How can you measure someones physical fitness from how they appear in a bathing suit? I played softball for four years and the thing that surprised me the most was that there were times when I could often outrun girls smaller than me but girls larger than me could out run me. Society would deem that unacceptable. We live in a world where "thin is in" and people automatically assume that when you are thin you are healthy. That really bothers me. No one can look at you from the outside and determine how physically fit you are, instead what they are doing is objectifying your body.
Society already has me feeling like a "social outcast" when I go to the pool and am in a cover-up until I am ready to get in the pool (and trust me, when my mind is made up that I am getting in the pool, I have 30 seconds to get the cover-up off and jump in) because my body doesn't fit societies norms. The last I heard, ideal body measurements for women were 36-24-36, at this point in my life - what I am supposed to do with those measurements, put them on a shirt and say "this is what society thinks I should measure up to"?
Why aren't there more competitions for plus sized women? Competitions where we (I dare not say "they" because I myself am plus sized) can go on stage with women who look like us and embrace who we are. Why aren't there competitions that actually show women who have muffin tops, thighs that touch and stretch marks? Why aren't there more competitions with "real" women?
Young girls are looking at these pageants and seeing what society says they should look like when they get older. All these young girls need to know is that when they get older they should feel healthy, they shouldn't feel like they are depriving themselves of things that they want.
As I leave what has become more of a rant and not a post, I can say that I am plus size, and I am working on becoming healthier while losing weight and inches in the process. One day I may have the courage to enter a beauty pageant (hopefully a plus size one) where I and other women can walk across a stage and be proud of who we are.
It would be amazing to have an arena where plus size was celebrated as beautiful in the same way that typical beauty is. Just because someone isn't the right (or healthy) size or weight doesn't mean they aren't beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I often struggle with the way that a lot of people judge anyone who is overweight as inferior.
I think it would be as well. I hate the way young girls think they have to be a certain size to be deemed acceptable by society. Some of the most beautiful women I know are plus size and it is truly remarkable to see them so comfortable in their own skin.
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