{"id":34,"date":"2020-05-13T02:33:29","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T02:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/?page_id=34"},"modified":"2020-05-13T09:15:29","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T09:15:29","slug":"miss-amazing-pageant-making-the-world-a-more-inclusive-place","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/","title":{"rendered":"Miss Amazing Pageant for Women &#038; Girls with Disabilities: \u201cMaking the world a more inclusive place\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Miss Amazing Pageant: &quot;Making the world a more inclusive place&quot;\" width=\"525\" height=\"295\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PMKgEaDennc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Evolution of Beauty Explained through Pageantry Over Time <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dazzling gowns and sparkling crowns may come to mind when you think of the word <em>pageant;<\/em> a place where beautiful women gather to parade on stage, maybe share a tap dance, and walk away with a banner and flowers. Pageants have evolved over time from their original purpose into programs with different values as you will hear explained by competitors and professionals in the business. They discuss the delta between the perception of their community and its activity and the evolved purpose pageants and those competing in them serve. The point of pageants has shifted over time from exterior credentials to talent and intellect as explained by the community and organizations themselves\u2014one can also observe the change through the media that broadcasts them with changes in ownership, networks, and more broadly, societal values as a whole with the times. Miss California USA and Miss Florida USA Executive Producer Robin Ross Fleming exemplifies the disconnect between society\u2019s perception of pageantry and what those enthralled in the experience want others to understand. She said the sport is evolving with the times as beauty has. \u201cTwenty years ago, winning a pageant was based on your outer presentation, your&nbsp;ability to use hair\/makeup skills to present yourself as a&nbsp;\u2019stereotypical\u2019&nbsp;beauty,\u201d she said. \u201cNow, we&nbsp;recognize beauty as the energy inside that informs the outer appearance, which requires a lot more skills than a makeup brush or&nbsp;hairspray. The stereotypes have been shattered, but the messaging to the public hasn\u2019t overcome the&nbsp;stereotypes\u2026YET.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through research, you can see the stereotype was once\njustified because of the nature of pageants when they first originated. In 1921,\nthe first Miss America pageant was held as a \u201cbathing suit beauty review.\u201d The\ncontestants were scored on their physique and cosmetic beautifying technique. &nbsp;Over the years, the competition inherited\ntalent and interview as portions of the competition but were still perceived as\n\u2018beauty pageants\u2019 up until the last couple decades. This does not mean beauty\nisn\u2019t a component in the pageants still today, but organization directors claim\nthat everyone in the pageant competing is beautiful on the outside, so judges\nlook to decide winners based on their inner standout qualities. Today, the Miss\nAmerica Organization values strong speaking skills, highly active engagement in\none\u2019s community, personal talent, and educational dedication in its contestants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>JJ Smith with Winnerviews, noted interview coach with\ndecades of experience in the industry, shared his guess as to why pageants may\nget a bad rap. \u201cThe most inaccurate negative opinions of pageant contestants\ngenerally come from those who simply do not know the true facts and have\nsuccumbed to the inaccuracies that have been repeated through the years,\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cMany people are surprised to learn that the Miss America Organization is\none the largest providers of college scholarships not just in the United\nStates, but the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Miss America has been broadcast since the origination in\n1921 and when Miss USA was founded in 1952, broadcasting its production\nannually as well. The media is the only way those outside the community get\ntheir understanding of pageants. Those inside the business say the media is not\nup-to-date with current pageant values and missions. Shows like TLC\u2019s <em>Toddlers\n&amp; Tiaras, <\/em>and the chosen portions of competition that are broadcast during\nnational pageants like Miss USA are claimed to be leaving out the evolved\npurpose of pageants today. Fleming points out she understands it is difficult\nto broadcast an entire weekend of pageant events, so shows will tend to focus\non the most dramatic, attractive footage, and leave out the wholesome moments,\nand conversations of intellectual substance. \u201cThe media seems to be about 20\nyears behind the reality of the&nbsp;\u2018pageant\u2019&nbsp;experience,\u201d she said. \u201cPerhaps\nchanging the term&nbsp;\u2018pageant\u2019 to&nbsp;\u2018personal competition\u2019 would&nbsp;help\nthe media to understand the direction of these events as we have already begun\nto do in the pageants we produce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like the Miss USA and Miss America\npageants, all other systems generally value community service as part of their\ncriteria. This is the part of the pageant that goes unseen, along with the parts\nwhere the women get to speak, and we get to know them Fleming explained. In the\nthree biggest nationally and internationally broadcast pageants, Miss America,\nMiss USA, and Miss Universe, the interview portion, paralleled to a job\ninterview with a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and career goal discussion, as well as service, occurs\nbefore the live show and is not generally filmed or broadcast. The last few years,\nhowever, the organizations have shown more footage of these processes, and\nallowed more chances for the contestants to speak on stage about their\ncommunity service platforms and occupations. Halle Thompson, a seasoned high\nschool pageant competitor and Miss California High School America 2018, says\nthe interview skills, service, and connections made are the reasons she\ncompetes. \u201cPageants are an outlet for me to perform on stage and make\nconnections with others,\u201d she said. \u201cIn interview portions of the competition,\nI am able to connect with judges and on a larger scale. I have created a network\nof people across the U.S. that I believe will be able to help me with future\nendeavors. My purpose for pageantry was originally to gain confidence in myself\nand improve my speaking and social skills. However, through my pageant career,\nI have found what I am passionate about which is giving back, public speaking,\nand empowering others.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The contestants and professionals in the\nbusiness say pageants can be so valuable in personal development because you\ncan apply the skills learned in serving one\u2019s community, public speaking, and\nanswering questions to real life circumstances. Smith stated \u201cI gain an\nincredible personal satisfaction in knowing that the techniques that I impart\nto my clients are ones that will not just serve them in being their best for\nthe next pageant but will serve them for a lifetime.&nbsp; They are not simply current and immediate\nlessons, but life lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Diversity is\nincreasing in the pageant world with women of all trades and educational\nbackgrounds showcasing their scholarship. Thompson points out that many of the\nwomen who compete in pageants are accomplished scientists, lawyers, doctors,\nand teachers. \u201cThey just happen to be beautiful and have the ability to walk\ndown a runway in 6-inch heels.\u201d This diversity in careers was demonstrated in recent\nyears of the Miss USA competition. Deshauna Barber, Miss USA 2016, was the\nfirst ever crowned captain in the U.S. Army Reserve. Her successor, Kara\nMcCullough, Miss USA 2017, is a scientist at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.\nAnd just last December, Miss America 2020, Camille Schrier won the national\npageant with a chemical reaction science experiment demonstration as her\ntalent. Not only have these women brought diversity to the goals and career\npaths of the women in pageants, but they have contributed to exterior diversity\nas well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many years, there was no diversity in winners crowned\nin the traditional beauty pageants. There was a certain image of smooth, straight\nor soft curly hair, thin, and generally Caucasian. Over the years, women of\ncolor began to be crowned, but there was still not enough equal representation\nin semi-finalists since recent years. Miss Universe began to pick the top 20\nfinalists now by region so there is a fair chance for all countries. In 2016,\nand 2017, Barber and McCoullough became the first back-to-back African American\ncompetitors from D.C. to win the title. In 2018, Angela Ponce, Miss Spain, became\nthe first transgender contestant to walk the Miss Universe stage and in 2019,\nfor the first time, all four major national and international titleholders who\nwon, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss Universe, and Miss America were African American\nwomen who proudly wore and wear their natural hair. Miss Universe 2020, Zozibini\nTunzi shared this message on stage moments before capturing the crown. \u201cI grew\nup in a world where a woman who looks like me, with my kind of skin and my kind\nof hair, was never considered to be beautiful,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I think that it\nis time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face. I\nwant them to see their faces reflected I mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Halle Thompson found confidence in her half-Asian culture with the development of diversity in pageants she has experienced herself. She believes that the new idea of beauty, the one that comes from within, is one that allows you to empower yourself and others. \u201cWe work hard in pageants, but we also get to build lifelong friendships with our competitors who really become like our sisters,\u201d she said. \u201cIn pageantry, we have a saying that goes \u2018real queens fix each other\u2019s; crowns,\u2019 which embodies the sense of friendship and sisterhood of pageantry.\u201d With the change in what beauty means, pageants are changing what they value, and the media should therefore display these updates and improvements to better convey to the outside world. The pageant community has welcomed these long-overdue changes compatible with society\u2019s evolution and Fleming, Smith, and Thompson all agree, they are looking forward to continually evolving and improving ideals of inner instead of outer beauty, character, and personal success not only in pageants but in the world as a whole. Fleming said, \u201cI think what has changed the most is the emphasis on inner self-confidence and fostering empowerment to yourself and others being the key to winning, not only on stage, but in life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Interactive Digital Timeline: Evolution of &#8216;Beauty&#8217; (Click Me!)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.06-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.06-AM-1024x510.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"19\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.06-AM.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/screen-shot-2020-04-07-at-11-47-06-am\/\" class=\"wp-image-19\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.06-AM-1024x510.png 1024w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.06-AM-300x149.png 300w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.06-AM-768x382.png 768w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.06-AM-1536x764.png 1536w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.06-AM.png 1744w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.16-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"501\" src=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.16-AM-1024x501.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"20\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.16-AM.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/screen-shot-2020-04-07-at-11-47-16-am\/\" class=\"wp-image-20\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.16-AM-1024x501.png 1024w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.16-AM-300x147.png 300w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.16-AM-768x376.png 768w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.16-AM-1536x751.png 1536w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.16-AM.png 1754w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.28-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"501\" src=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.28-AM-1024x501.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"21\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.28-AM.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/screen-shot-2020-04-07-at-11-47-28-am\/\" class=\"wp-image-21\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.28-AM-1024x501.png 1024w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.28-AM-300x147.png 300w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.28-AM-768x376.png 768w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.28-AM-1536x752.png 1536w, https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-07-at-11.47.28-AM.png 1728w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Evolution of Beauty Explained through Pageantry Over Time Dazzling gowns and sparkling crowns may come to mind when you think of the word pageant; a place where beautiful women gather to parade on stage, maybe share a tap dance, and walk away with a banner and flowers. Pageants have evolved over time from their &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Miss Amazing Pageant for Women &#038; Girls with Disabilities: \u201cMaking the world a more inclusive place\u201d&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-page-builder.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-34","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46,"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34\/revisions\/46"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2020\/fmwillia\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}