There she is, Miss America

This week I watched a brilliant video by John Oliver as he takes an intellectual/satirical approach to dissecting beauty pageants. Growing up, I've never really been a fan of watching these pageants, and quite frankly, I hated the fact that they always interrupted whatever show that was previously programmed to air. Rude. How could they move aside the Simpsons for this?

These days though, I find that I still don't like pageants...but for other reasons. All in all, you're probably going to get a biased opinion here. For the sake of research, I wanted to sit through the pageant and really absorb what it's about, but to be honest, I can barely sit through 10 minutes of it. I really don't see the point of it. Women dress up, look pretty, walk up and down a run way and are evaluated on... beauty? How well they can walk in a straight line? How well they matched their bikini to their lipstick? How well they can answer a question in 20 seconds? 

From what I've heard and in what I've seen, my understanding of pageants is that it's a competition and that there's some prize money associated with it. I have no quarrels with this. I like a little competition as much as the next person. Throw some prize money in there and you got a deal. Hell, you're talking to Miss "sits around the radio waiting to be caller number 9 so I can win some random prize" over here. However, what I do find annoying is the emptiness of the competition. 

Again, what am I being evaluated on? I went on the Miss America website and found this:

Finals Competition Scoring

The scoring for the Miss America Finals Competition is weighted accordingly:

Composite Score- 30% (Top 16)

Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit - 20% (Top 16)

Evening Wear- 20% (Top 10)

Talent- 30% (Top 8)

On Stage Question (Top 8)

Final Ballot

Source: http://www.missamerica.org/news/press-kit/national-judging-process.aspx

Here's what I have a problem with: 

1) Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit:

Ok, so you look great in a swim suit. You must have worked really hard to get there. I'm not even being sarcastic . Anyone who has ever been to a gym religiously knows how hard it is to maintain a nice body so koodos to you for sticking to your guns and achieving it. But, so what? You have a nice body. Great. Now what? Why is your body shape so important that it has to be rated? Why do I care what kind of body you have? 

What's the criteria here anyway? Are we looking at size ratios? Are we looking to see if you have a thigh gap? flat stomach? muffin top?  How can anyone standardize the definition of a beautiful body? What does a beautiful body even look like?

2) Evening wear:

What are we really judging here? Your taste in dresses? How well you can pull off a dress? What happens if you pick out a hideous dress? Do we blame the dress for your low score? It's the dress' fault that you didn't win Miss America? Why is this category even relevant? So many questions.

3) On stage Question:

What are we really proving here? How well someone can answer a question in 20 seconds? John Oliver says it best in that even the president cannot come up with an answer that quickly. By the way, did anyone actually notice that the contestants are not even evaluated on their answers? There's no weighted value associated with it. So basically, you can have a kick ass solution to world hunger, but it doesn't count towards anything.

Besides, I'm no expert on the matter, but I've never actually seen Miss America (or any other pageant winner) acting on any of the things that they claim they would do. I feel that they just tell us what we want to hear and pretend like these are the issues that really matter to them.

Overall, I believe that pageants are designed to showcase outer beauty. I'm not saying that outer beauty isn't important, but that there is more to an individual than how he or she presents themselves. I thought that the question and answer portion of the competition was the most bearable because it provides an opportunity to pick out their brains but, as you can see, it doesn't even matter in the end. It barely has any weight in the outcome. Why aren't we praising people for their intellect or their achievement? Why are we not showcasing women who think outside the box in order to make a difference in the world? Why are we so hung up in finding women in bikinis and evening gowns attractive and not women in lab coats? When was the last time your regular programming was interrupted for the Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies? Think about THAT.

I seriously recommend watching the full video...

Cookie Cutter Feminism

Cookie Cutter Feminism: It doesn’t exist

We can’t all be the same kind of feminist

Like I’ve mentioned before, I took a gender studies elective in school. Here, we were exposed to several feminist theories that emerged over time as a result of the yesteryears. After learning about a handful of theories, three stood out to me:

1.    Liberal feminism: these feminists believe that even though women are biologically different, they are still human and therefore should be treated equal in all aspects of life. Liberal feminists aim to put women in the work force in such a way that there is no discrimination in gender. Here, women are encouraged to personify male qualities, such as aggressiveness and power, to succeed in the workplace. Think Jessica Pearson from Suits. She would do liberal feminists proud.

2.     Radical feminism: the notion that men and women are different, but equal. Emphasis in this theory is put on qualities that make women unique as a way to empower women. Such qualities include nurturance, empathy and compassion.

3.     Psychoanalytical feminism: women and men are forced into their gender roles due to the influence of society. The primary belief is that gender is not biologically determined but a role we play as a result of what society expects of us.  It’s something that we are taught as children, adopt, and share with the next generation.

Being a young, ambitious woman in a competitive world, I was mostly drawn to liberal feminism. It seemed like a perfect fit for my personality and I believed that this was the most obvious way to progress in the world as a female.  This idea encouraged me to adopt a ruthless feminist mentality that turned out to be very wrong. I think at that point, I took feminism to an extreme. In my mind, a forward thinking woman/modern woman/ woman exercising her female rights was someone who:

ü  Was dedicated to her education and/or career- she puts her career first before anything else

ü  Postponed having children because she needs to live her life to the fullest before giving up her life for someone else

ü  Did not need the support of a man because she’s Ms. Independent and she can do it all on her own

ü  Had strong and like-minded friends who she meets after work for drinks to talk about how successful she is doing in a ‘mans world’. If you’ve ever watched Lipstick Jungle, you would know what I’m talking about. (Side note: that show is totally underrated. Definitely check it out)

Women who didn’t fit this mould were, to me, anti-feminists and were wasting their female power. I was so snobby that I looked down on women who chose to be housewives despite their education. Hello! Do you not have dreams and ambitions? Why are you wasting your life taking care of a man when you can develop a successful career for yourself? You’re setting back the feminist movement!

…God, I was such a jerk

This line of thinking is totally wrong. Cruel even. Who am I to judge how you run your life? Who am I to determine your goals and ambitions? What really hit it home for me was when I started thinking about the psychoanalytical approach to feminism.  To reiterate, these feminists believe that society dictates the roles of males and females. We learn in childhood to identify traits as either masculine or feminine simply by watching our parents.  These early childhood experiences lead to gender inequality. Think about it. How many times have you heard someone (most likely a man, but I’ve heard women say it too) that women belong in the kitchen? I bet you would be less likely to believe that if you grew up watching your dad cook your meals.

Anyways, the point I’m getting at is this: if a psychoanalytically influenced feminist is fighting to strip away societal expectations for women, why are feminists fighting to reinvent new expectations for women? Why am I, a feminist at heart, telling women how to be a woman? Isn’t that exactly what psychoanalytical feminists were fighting against? I was asking women to make a shift from one kind of female to another... and that is wrong. What makes me any different from the society forcing down their expectation of women?

Ladies, you have the power and freedom to choose what type of woman you want to be. You can choose to be a career woman or a stay at home mom. That’s your choice. Embrace it. Own it. Live it. Just make sure that you strive to be the best in your chosen field. If I can tell past me about the folly of my old line of thinking, I would tell her, 

“Give these women a break! You call yourself a feminist yet you’re against women! Calm yourself, yah hypocrite.”

On that note... why are women so mean to each other? We can't fight for equality if we're busy pulling at each other's hair. Get it together, girls!

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“From the Sidelines” is the section of the blog where I post links/ information about the pop culture references or resources I may have used in today’s post.

For more information on feminist theories, I recommend “Gender Inequality: Feminist theories and politics” by Judith Lorber. ISBN: 978-0-19-537522-0

Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres)- This was the best I can find:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYSmydABcFQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azS90dTrXCE

 Lipstick Jungle- again, this is the best I can find:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q08dDGfqKLg

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Man! I Feel Like A Woman

Artist: Shania Twain

Album:Come On Over (1999)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL4UGSbeFg