Defining What Is Beauty in Relation to Beauty Pageants 

Beauty pageants are a source of entertainment in society that many viewers take interest in, however the impact pageants have on society goes obscured. It sets unrealistic beauty standards for an audience and gives deleterious input on how one should appear. As the familiar expression goes, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This saying implies that somebody who is viewed as alluring to one individual may not really speak to another, and it enables judges to set the standard of what is beauty or not. In the event that this world were to be perfect, perhaps everybody would pursue the astute expressions of this well-known saying and concede that assessing one’s beauty is just a matter of individual taste and contemporary quality.

Beauty pageants are harmful not only to ordinary women but also to the entire audience, as they give women the impression of being incompetent and unattractive, leading to extreme dieting, eating disorders, medical procedures, having a greater affect on men's attitude towards women and the idea of how an ideal woman should appear to be. Such contests excruciate young females by regarding them as merely objects and are held up to a severe expectation of what beauty is. An expectation that is agonizing, tedious, and costly for individuals to attempt to accomplish.

Defining the Issue

A beauty pageant is a competition that has generally centered around judging and positioning the physical characteristics of the contenders. However, it does not solely focus on physical appearance, but talents and personality aspects on top of this to express the contenders acknowledgement of inner beauty.

One of the more significant consequences of these judgements are self esteem and mental issues that can lead to more detrimental emotional and physical issues later on in life. These judgements and ranking that occur throughout these pageants can have a great toll on the overall wellbeing of the contestant and also those involved in the competition with them, such as family or friends.

Beauty pageants are unhealthy sources of entertainment for society as they set impractical beauty criterias for an audience of strictly regarding young women. It supports and convinces the affected individuals into making a decision about one’s worth dependent on appearance alone, as opposed to on an individual's character. There is a discomfort akin to the theme of childhood now, as physical attributes are all that is counted (Shepherd & Ball, 2000). As a result, the audience is taught to externalize individuals.

These beauty pageants can be misdirecting and destructive, not exclusively to ladies without this body type, however to society in general. The level of degree that beauty contests aspire at isn't a comprehensive thought of beauty, however one that is shallow and only regards a woman’s physical appearance.

Anthropological Factors

It has become common to rank these individuals by one’s physical appearance and define what has become modern beauty. An anthropology course imparted a daring bit of knowledge: somewhere in the world, there were American women covering up their breasts and ankles, and an Arab would cover her face (Shepherd & Ball, 2000). The concept of concealing allurness within other cultures has been heavily influenced from the contests that were held in the past.

Racism has been a social issue going on for many years, exclusively regarding to discrimination against black woman. Pageants that have occured far before refrained from displaying the elegance of black beauty. If one has a darker complexion or has an afro, rather than indulging themselves of the representation of a beautiful culture, are instead disgusted with how one is being appeared. Beauty pageants in the past have limited society's view on beauty today, as it has only given a microscopic portion of what each individual has to offer.

Discrimination agaisnt a females appearance also takes place before the beauty pageant even begins. Many aspiring women are hoping to be seen as a queen. However those who are rather short, chubby, has acne or any features that society would fine “ugly” aren’t normally the ones to get drafted.

As a matter of fact, before World War II, none of the women shaved, feeling confident in their own skin. Having said that, because of the way beauty pageants have set the image of how a female should stand and appear to be, it has become common for women to shave. If a woman is seen with underarm or facial hair, the individual is described as hideous and disgusting. This authenticates how past beauty pageants have shaped the idea of a female's appearance and cause many stereotypes.