“Beauty is not in the face, beauty is a light in the heart.” -Kahlil Gibran
Saturday I competed in the Miss Crimson Beauty Review, which to me is just a fancy way to say pageant. This was my first time ever participating in pageant and to be honest probably my last. I did not hate it, but I did not love it either. But as I got closer to the date of the pageant, I began to question the name “beauty review”. What does it actually mean to have your beauty reviewed? Is it the beauty within your heart or is the beauty that we see when face to face? And how does one judge such a broad topic? Doesn’t everybody’s opinion of beauty differ. What is inner beauty contribute to a competition like this? Is the competition really based off what we look like on the outside thanks to cosmetic products or is it really about the beauty on the inside?
I had a lot of difficulty accepting this concept after the pageant was over. I have never really been a fan of pageants because I think they lead to drama and low self-esteem. I am not even sure why I even competed, but I am glad I did because it made me really question this society’s view of people. In my childhood I was taught something that I would like to believe most people were taught; to love people for who they are, not what they are or how they look.So then what is the point of a “beauty review”.So then what is the point of a “beauty review”. The image of women and what is considered beautiful has drastically changed over the years. How can I judged on my beauty when I have (I assume) a completely different view of beauty than the people surrounded by me? The judges of this pageant never had a conversation with me. The only notion of my inner beauty they were given was a piece of paper that stated how previous judges thought I did in interview and a 15 second answer to the question, “What are you most proud of since you have been on campus?”.
As I was pondering upon these questions I started to realize that this is just another issue dealing with equality. You see Miss America and Miss USA contestants preach equality everyday, but to me pageants are the opposite of being equal. The winners have now become one step ahead of everyone else as they are deemed (in my case) the “most beautiful”. If we are going to keep pushing for equality and happiness amongst all people, then we have to understand that placing that crown on the head of a winner is the least “equal” thing you can do.