Image Credit: L-R: Miss USA 2016, Deshauna Barber and Miss USA 2015, Olivia Jordan.The 65th Annual MISS USA® competition airs live from the T-Mobile Arena at MGM Grand in Las Vegas Sunday, June 5 (7:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.
4 feminist moments from 'Miss USA' & one area that needs improvement
Miss USA. You’ve probably dismissed the telecast as an antiquated piece of sexism. Look, it’s not like I can fault you; pageants, like all things, have their pros and cons. But it would seem the Miss USA organization is intent on making sure viewers realize their organization is with the times, that it respects women and wants to empower them to be all they can be.
This year’s production of Miss USA really drove that intention home. In fact, they bludgeoned the viewers over the head with it. While the “empowering women” message was driven home so much it started seeming like the program insecure with itself — like it knew that it was retconning itself from decades of helping frame female beauty standards — there were some great, feminist moments. Here are four of them, plus some commentary on one area that needs to be worked on for 2017.
1. “Define Beauty”The telecast started off with a video package featuring the contestants discussing how they defined beauty. No one said they defined beauty by what makeup someone used, how skinny someone was, or the type of style one implements. Instead, the contestants defined beauty by what’s in someone’s character. Compassion, strength, fearlessness, dedication, fitness, diversity, and other qualities were what described beauty to them. So, right off the bat, the show and its participants wanted to let viewers know that the women competing weren’t just vapid, beauty-queen stereotypes. They are well-rounded women who are beautiful inside and out.
2. A focus on individualityThe program wanted to make certain that we knew these women weren’t cookie-cutter. I’ll admit that it was a little laughable that the audience was told that the women chose their own swimsuits and evening gowns to express their individuality, but there were other, more serious ways in which the contestants’ unique qualities were conveyed. They are women in the medical and teaching professions. They are women who are serving in the military. They are women speaking out against injustice.
They are also women hoping to give young girls positive role models: They want young girls to know that having mental illness shouldn’t be stigmatized, and that the phrase “loving the skin you’re in” isn’t cliché. The contestants are such that they were able to stand above any focus on aesthetic beauty; they were able to showcase their individual selves, including their individual personal style.
3. Intersectional beautyThe top three Miss USA contestants were all women of color. That’s something that’s amazing in and of itself. Pageants like Miss USA have, in the past, been guilty of adhering to certain narrowly defined beauty standards, specifically, Eurocentric beauty standards. Part of any feminist practice should be intersectionality — seeing the sisterhood in women of all skin tones, cultures, and backgrounds.
As a pageant system, Miss USA and its judges (who were also a multicultural group) saw the beauty in women who are too often disregarded in the media and in fashion. That sends a message to young girls of color who watched: They too can see themselves as beautiful.
4. Miss District of Columbia’s winThe win of Miss District of Columbia, Deshauna Barber, was celebrated up and down social media. I’m sure it was celebrated in many homes as well. Why is it so great? Well, she’s not just a black Miss USA — she’s a dark-skinned Miss USA. The politics of colorism is a real thing in America, and many darker-hued girls still feel dismissed and ugly.
Even in Hollywood, lighter-skinned black women are able to get more roles (and more meaningful ones) than their darker-skinned counterparts. Seeing a dark-skinned black woman crowned means so much to so many people. She’s also military officer, showing that women can not only serve in the military with honor, but they can hang with the men and be just as tough, if not tougher. Ms. Barber is also stellar at giving in-depth, sophisticated answers on the fly. Watch:
All in all, Barber is going to serve the Miss USA brand fantastically, as well as bring the organization toward the type of future it seems to want to be a part of.
Now, what’s the thing Miss USA needs to work on?
Introducing fuller-figured contestantsThe organization made strides to recognize women of all sizes by having model Ashley Graham as a correspondent. But, as Graham herself said during the telecast, it would behoove the organization to actually add fuller women into the contestant pool. Having Graham interview the girls deemed acceptable to represent their states says a lot about body politics. If someone like Graham is good enough to interview contestants, then someone like Graham is good enough to compete on the stage. Many American women are size 16 and up, so we need to start seeing folks like our friends, family, neighbors, and ourselves on stage, celebrated for our beauty.
What did you think of Miss USA? Give your opinions in the comments section below!
http://community.ew.com/2016/06/09/4-feminist-moments-from-miss-usa-plus-1-area-that-needs-fixing/
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