Staring contest

“When I grow up, I wanna be famous, I wanna be a star, I wanna be in movies…” These words begin the chorus of the infamous song “When I Grow Up” sang by the pop girl group, the Pussycat Dolls, that dominated radio stations in the early 2000s. The song’s lyrics symbolize a group of women who have made it to the big leagues by being sexy and are relishing in their wealth and success. In the early 2000s, the Pussycat Dolls were a symbol of power and sex and were a picture perfect group of women…

The music video “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke might have won its controversial fame because of the lyrics or the exposed nudity, but one thing is sure: it was the moment for Emily Ratajkowski to shine. Emily started her career at the age of 14, signing with Ford Models. After that, she tried auditioning for several productions like Nickelodeon or Disney. She tells me “At the beginning I was exited to start an actress career until I notice that the only they offered me were the mean girl or…

La'Tonya Rease Miles discusses her thought process while creating the syllabus for a class dedicated to cheerleading in the article American Beauty: The Cheerleader in America Literature and Popular Culture. In the article, Miles reminisces about her personal experiences as a high school cheerleader and points out various stereotypes of cheerleaders in the media. Miles's experiences as well as my own can be compared to the well-known cheerleading movie, Bring It On, in order to reveal the movies…

important to their social status and popularity? For the longest time, girls have competed from ages new born all the way up to their twenties in beauty contests. Most of the time, it’s the parents who get them first started in the industry, but the amount of money and time they spend on pageants is ridiculous! Why is it so important for girls to win contests for beauty, and not for their true selves? Beauty pageants are starting to be banned in schools because of their bad rap. They are just an…

uniformity in this society is something the people of the world draw closer and closer to every day. A large issue in the modern world that can be related to the “Brave New World”, would be the sexualization of children. Competitions such as beauty contests and even the popular reality show: “Toddlers in Tiaras” are examples of this. Putting makeup and dressing up little girls in revealing clothing is seen by many people to be a horrible thing (Pickles). This sexualizes them at a young age…

Many teen girls dream of modeling in beauty pageants; on a down side, the public has chosen to say beauty pageants sexualize women. However, this is false for the Miss USA Pageant. The Miss USA Pageant doesn’t sexualize women for the reason of having interviews on girl’s personalities, judging on confidence, and how the girls present themselves. The judges mostly look at the girl’s personality. At the beginning of the pageant, each contestant gives the judges a bio about themselves; with…

Coshocton Tribune reported on Aug. 13, 1926” (Weeks). The face kissing fad is exactly what it sounds like, kissing someone for an extended amount of time. “...A young couple continued to kiss for three hours and two minutes at a national marathon kissing contest on Coney Island in New York” (Weeks). Although these activities sound completely pointless, back in the twenties everyone was attempting these feats and while few succeeded, many had fun…

rewards. In one year, the Miss America Organization provides more than forty-five million dollars of scholarship aid to more than twelve thousand women. With the help of this non-profit organization and their financial aid, a large percentage of the pageant participants have their degree or are in the act of earning their undergraduate or graduate degrees. Miss America’s Outstanding Teen can win thirty-thousand dollars in scholarships. In its thirty-five year history, this pageant has awarder…

The purpose of this project is to show that Misty Copeland is changing the way the ballet world defines the correct image and body shape of a ballerina. Copeland does not fit the stereotype of ballerina: she is 5’2, has really defined muscles, has bust, and is African American. She started ballet at the age of 13, late for a dancer, but her pure talent made her into a prodigy. Misty Copeland really set out to become a professional ballerina, regardless of her ethnicity and body shape, she pushed…

Beauty pageants originated a long time ago, and over the years they have evolved tremendously. Today, the use of spray tans, false eyelashes, fake teeth, layers of makeup, and over-sexed outfits are the norm of child pageants. Just over the course of a few decades, the pageant world has changed from simple church dresses to expensive glitzy outfits. Most little girls would relish at the thought of being treated like a princess, even if just for a few days out of the year; however, some parents…