“The Ugly Side of the Southern Belle”, from The New York Times (you can see the whole article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/opinion/racial-politics-and-miss-america.html?_r=0 ) raised an interesting point about the public’s view of pageant titleholders that I previously hadn’t thought of. This article explores the use of titleholders as political mechanisms to gain positive support for a state/country in the event that that state does something widely unpopular. It also looks into why the ideal pageant contestant has nearly always been considered the “Southern belle” type of girl, stating “Next to winning college football titles, beauty contests seem to be something young Southerners do particularly well.”
During desegregation from the early 1950s on, white Americans (particularly in the south) responded quickly and violently to the concept of integration. In the face of the numerous assaults, beatings, lynchings and other anti-integration violence, Southern pageant titleholders became a vehicle for positive press for the region, distracting the rest of the nation from their unsavory behaviors towards African-Americans. A Mississippi beauty queen who went on to become Miss America was said to be “worth millions in good value to Mississippi.” Southern pageant queens defended their state’s ideals stringently, carrying the beliefs of her state wherever she went. After the unrest of the civil rights movement had passed, southern women still did well in the pageant circuit, but lost their near-monopoly on pageant titles. Over time, racial tensions have waned as well, evidenced in the crowning of the first black Miss America in 1983.
This article brought up an aspect of racial involvement in pageantry that I hadn’t considered. I definitely agree with the author that pageant winners can be used to garner positive support for their state/region/country in light of unpopular press. I also agree that the southern belle has long been considered the ideal pageant girl, maybe because of coinciding stereotypes of both pageant girls and southern belles being pretty, charismatic Caucasians that are most likely blonde. I disagree with the author’s statement that racial tensions have faded. They may not be as violently expressed as in the past, but they definitely still exist; they have just shifted focus. Where it is now considered normal to see an African-American or Asian woman on a pageant stage, the outrage is expressed at women of Arabic or Indian ethnicity. In further posts I hope to compare the shifting racial tensions towards pageant contestants, and possible sources of these tensions. This article has also piqued my curiosity as to why southern women have historically done so well in the pageant world.
Hey,
I really enjoyed reading your second post. I like that you provided a picture of a southern belle, so the reader can imagine exactly what you describe in your post. I agree that racial tensions have not just disappeared, but still exist especially in certain states that could have different beliefs. I am not sure if this is still true, but in Atlanta they still had seperate proms for whites and african americans. So I would think that if this is true than judges could have grown up with racism and this effects their choice in a winner.
I would like to know more about the backlash against the Indian woman who won, because I have not heard about this. Shouldn’t the judges be somewhat accountable for who wins, so how do judges choose a winner? Maybe judges pick based on culture, because that makes a person more rounded in my opinion. Good luck with the rest of your posts!
Hey Susanne!
I love your topic, I think it is very interesting! It is sad to see that these racists ideas are still very alive in our country today, even though people like to pretend they aren’t. I was glad to see someone win Miss USA this year who was not the “typical pageant girl” you were writing about but I was shocked and disappointed to see how many Americans responded to it.
I really like your second post as well. This is a point of view I have never thought of but it definitely makes sense. Beauty pageant winners are a representation of the state and can distract viewers from the negatives in the state. I also agree with your belief that this racism has not completely faded, this was clear in people’s response to the most recent Miss USA pageant winner. I saw this post after the pageant of people’s responses that were awful but may help you in your paper, http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/a-lot-of-people-are-very-upset-that-an-indian-american-woman . Maybe you could look into why people were acting so cruelly to Nina Davuluri winning Miss USA. You could also look into if this the view of majority of Americans or just a small portion of American’s feeling the need to express their racists views on the internet. I think it is a great idea in how you are going to look at the shift in racial tensions towards pageant contestants. I also like how you set up your post with a summary of the article and your thoughts on it. I am really excited to see where you go with this paper, I think it will be great!
Good luck!
Katie
Hello again,
I read your second post so I could continue learning about your very interesting topic. Like I mentioned in my first comment, I know nothing of the pageant world. It definitely makes sense that the south would use pageants as a media cover for their abundant racists acts. I also agree with you that racism still exist, but a new ethnicity is being discriminated against. I’m wondering if at some point in your essay you can question why society feels the need to find someone to blame. If society is not hating African Americans progress than they are hating the government or blaming a whole race/religion for terrorism. Just a philosophical suggestion. Keep up the great work!
–Brianna
Hi,
I really enjoyed your blog post. I had never put much thought into the races of pageant contestants when watching pageants on TV such as Ms. America or Ms. Teen USA. It is a good point to be made because who is to say that caucasian is the prettier race? There are so many beautiful women from all races. Beauty pageant judges should remain completely objective without judging a person based on their race. I also liked that you brought up the aspect of a southern belle being an ideal pageant girl. This may have been the standard in the past, but I think in the future with our “melting-pot” America, it is important that this changes.
Overall I really enjoyed your post!
-Bailey