Introduction
The beauty pageant industry roots back to the 19th century, but the origins of such a practice can be found much earlier. Greek mythology often revolved around women’s beauty, an example of that is the legend about Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena, whose fairness was judged by Paris (“Beauty pageant origins and culture,” n. d.). In the modern world, the judgment upon female appearance is often seen as degrading and sexist. Beauty pageants are, in turn, viewed as an entertainment business that promotes female objectification and sends the wrong message to people. For over half a century, feminists have been protesting pageants, which, nevertheless, seem to survive every wave of the women’s movement. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the liberal and Marxist feminist perspectives on beauty contests and analyze the harmful effect of the industry on society.
Feminism and its Forms
Firstly, it is necessary to define the term “feminism” and study its forms. According to Jenainati (2019), feminism refers to the effort to end sexist domination towards women of all races and classes. There are three primary phases of the movement, defined by historians and called feminist waves. The first wave took a suffrage form, the second wave rose against the patriarchal control over the woman’s body and rights, and the third wave, postfeminism, redefined the idea of womanhood and gender (Jha, 2015). Despite the contradictions of feminism, it serves to fight the inequalities that females face daily in their life.
Liberal feminism corresponds to the idea of human rationalism and autonomy, emphasizing that women should make their own choices and control their own actions. According to Jha (2015), liberal feminism focused on “obtaining individual rights for women” (p. 16). Its theory claims that gender inequality is not based on biological differences, and since two genders are equal, they should not be treated as different under the law. One of the essential goals of liberal feminism is to show how much society discriminates against women and that even if there are differences between sexes, women are not inferior.
In turn, Marxist feminism promoted the idea that women were treated as an oppressed class. As Jha states (2015), Marxist feminists analyzed the exploitation of women’s reproductive and domestic labor. Besides, until the end of the 19th century, the right to private property was not given to women. Instead, all their profits and wages belonged to their husband. The role of housework done by females was underrated, despite being crucial for the capitalist system. Apart from supporting workers and reproducing the new generations, women were able to earn extra money for the family, while still doing all the domestic duties. Marxist feminism criticized women’s labor exploitation and expected equal rights and wages for women and men.
The Beauty Pageant Industry and the Principles of Feminism
The Miss America Pageant of 1921 can be called the prototype of a contemporary beauty contest. The idea spread to other countries through Hollywood films, and by the 1950s, beauty pageants were all around the world (“Beauty pageant origins and culture,” n. d.). It might seem that since they have become so popular and women still participate, there is nothing wrong with it. However, according to the principles of feminism, there is a number of issues associated with beauty pageants and their effects on society.
In particular, the question arises whether beauty pageants are empowering or degrading for women. Liberal and Marxist feminism discussed in this paper belong to the second wave of the women’s movement, and at that period, feminists began to question the advisability of beauty contests. In her article “What’s Wrong with Beauty Pageants?,” Napikoski (2020) highlights the famous Miss America protest, which emphasized liberal feminism principles. The protest activists criticized beauty contests as they objectified women and promoted the cult of physical beauty and consumerism. Consequently, it causes a number of other problems, such as mental and physical health issues. According to Martz and Rogers (2016), a study found out that all the Miss America pageants’ winners were underweight, and their body mass index met the criteria for anorexia, which affects mental and physical health. In other words, perverted beauty standards advertised through beauty pageants affect the participants and society as a whole.
However, further issues are associated with such a harmless at first thought practice. Another concern of liberal feminists was based on the fact that “in more than 40 years since the dawn of Miss America,” there has been no black women as contestants (Napikoski, 2020, Miss White America? Section, para. 1). Liberal feminists sought justice for all women and explained that and the other nine reasons for their protest in their document.
The Marxist feminist perspective focuses on the issue of treating women as a class inferior to men. Marxism deals with class inequality, while feminism deals with the inequality between women and men. A combination of the two approaches focuses on female oppression in patriarchal societies. According to Marxist feminism principles, beauty pageants are a show ruled by and run for men (Napikoski, 2020). This statement is based on the fact that pageants have featured women exceptionally, supporting the idea that females are the class, whose mission is to look pretty and entertain others (Flint, 2020). All contestants are expected to have a number of ideal features, a combination of which provides the win. However, in Marxist feminism, judging women’s beauty according to unsubstantiated standards is seen as an example of male superiority, especially prevalent in patriarchal countries. Adegoke (2019) states that beauty pageants are a “relic of a bygone time,” where beauty is seen as an indicator of worth (‘Modernising’ Pageants section, para. 3). Marxist feminists sought to stop the antiquated treatment toward women, while beauty contests promoted it.
Conclusion
To conclude, the pageants are only a segment of a large beauty industry that has been dictating rules and setting trends for centuries, on a direct and subconscious level. In this paper, beauty contests are discussed from the liberal and Marxist feminist perspectives. Both ideologies agree on the adverse effect of such practice on women and the whole society. It can be concluded that beauty pageants are rather degrading as they promote objectification, inequality, and unhealthy body image, which is inconsistent with the liberal and Marxist feminism principles.
References
Adegoke, Y. (2019). Judging women on appearance at beauty pageants is a relic of a bygone time and faux feminism. Inews. Web.
Beauty pageant origins and culture. (n. d.). PBS. Web.
Flint, H. (2020). Can beauty pageants ever be empowering? BBC Culture. Web.
Jenainati, C. (2019). Feminism: A graphic guide. Icon Books.
Jha, M. (2015). The global beauty industry: Colorism, racism, and the national body. Routledge.
Martz, D. M., & Rogers, C. B. (2016). Understanding and treating women’s body image and eating disorders. North Carolina Medical Journal, 77 (6) 426-429, Web.
Napikoski, L. (2020). What’s wrong with beauty pageants?. ThoughtCo. Web.