Beauty Pageants as an American Institution

Beauty pageants are often ridiculed, and even vilified, in American society. Yet their lasting power—from “There She Is” to Toddlers & Tiaras to pageant waves—is undeniable. What accounts for their enduring power? This course draws on inter-disciplinary scholarship to examine how and why pageantry and American femininity have become linked in the public consciousness as they transformed from beauty contests to the largest source of scholarship money available to women in this country. We will examine how pageantry intersects with major institutions—education, politics, and media.