• Beauty pageants: women’s empowerment via male purview?

An article in The New Statesman leads with this line: “In the US, beauty pageants are an increasingly popular way for young women to begin a career in public office.” The article begins by discussing (female) beauty pageants as a business, noting that in the U.S. there are two main franchises, Miss America and Miss USA, which run competitions nationally and statewide, down to local level. In addition, countless small, independent events occur annually with a high degree of specificity: Miss Chinatown USA for Chinese Americans, Miss Latina US, Miss Black Deaf America, and Miss Earth United States.

The article describes the work of Beverly Stoeltje, a professor of cultural anthropology at Indiana University. She says that although American culture was founded on the rational principles of a republic, a yearning remains for something of the Old World: “We have these pageants, which crown these queens. In this culture, since we don’t have monarchs, we create them.” Continue reading “Anthro in the news 3/17/14” →