The number of contestants and audiences of large, long-standing beauty pageants such as Miss Universe, Miss America (USA), and Miss Hong Kong decreases every year.
After the girl who won Miss USA 2024 gave up the title in May, many beauty sites analyzed the decline of beauty pageants. NPR has an interview with Amy Argetsinger - editor of The Washington Post - with the theme: "Is this the beginning of the end for beauty pageants?".
"These playgrounds have lost the appeal they had in the 1990s. What led to this situation? Is it poor quality or is it that the organizers cannot maintain the standards they once had, when beauty queens were considered to represent the beauty of a country?", FirstPost ask questions
In the US and Europe, beauty pageants, big and small, are losing their appeal. According to Forbes, Miss America (first held in 1921) was once considered a “must-see” show. In 1954, the finals were watched by 27 million people – even though not every household had a television at the time. By 2017, the show had a viewership of just 5.6 million.
In 1984, Miss Universe attracted 35 million viewers in the US, by 2023, it had only 819,000 viewers aged 18-49 and 301,000 viewers aged 18-34, according to Nielsen . Miss World is not broadcast on prime time in the UK - where the organization is based.
India is considered a beauty pageant powerhouse, with six Miss World titles and three Miss Universe titles. But HindustanTimes Indians are not as enthusiastic about beauty queens as they were when Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai were crowned Miss Universe and Miss World, respectively, in 1994.
Hong Kong used to be a region that developed beauty pageants, with competitive playgrounds such as Miss Hong Kong, Miss Asia, Miss Chinese International Pageant. However, currently only Miss Hong Kong is held annually, Miss Chinese International Pageant stopped operating after 2019, Miss Asia is held erratically.
According to The Paper, Although still in existence, Miss Hong Kong has lost much of its appeal compared to its peak in the 1980s and 1990s. During that period, each contest attracted thousands of contestants, but in recent years, only over 100 people have registered to participate, with controversial quality.
The rise of feminism and the development of the #MeToo movement have changed public perception of beauty pageants. Many people believe that the playgrounds are outdated, following beauty stereotypes set by businessmen. Instead of portraying independent, talented, creative women, most organizers only focus on promoting physical factors. Experts say that beauty contests create a negative view of women and that getting the public used to the pleasure of looking at women’s bodies indirectly reinforces the ideology of masculinity.
In the past, there were not many opportunities for women, they relied on beauty to attract attention and change their destiny. Most of the beauty pageant contestants today are educated and have professional qualifications. They have more and more choices and opportunities to change their lives. In Hong Kong, in addition to beauty pageants, women now have many stages to express themselves. Therefore, "in the flow of history, it is understandable that Miss Hong Kong is no longer interested," Chinese social commentator Leung Hong Dat commented on Liaoning TV.
According to New Weekly In China, over the past 10 years, no prominent entertainment stars have emerged from beauty pageants in China. "The nature of beauty pageants has gradually shifted to a commercial form, so it is not difficult to understand why beauty pageants are gradually losing attention."
Miss Universe was founded by Pacific Knitting Mills, a clothing and accessories company. The growth and influence of the pageant has made them a major corporation. In 1951, when Yolande Betbeze was crowned Miss America, she demonstrated her feminist ideology by refusing to wear a swimsuit for a photo shoot with her sponsor.
Today, contestants are still required to constantly wear sponsors' clothes, take promotional photos with many brands and labels in side activities. Professor Lee Young Ja of the Catholic University of Korea analyzes the nature of beauty contests as business, aiming to bring more profits to the organizers. She calls it "exploitation through the commercialization of women".
Many beauty contests are degraded and involved in scandals. In April, Miss USA Noelia Voigt, 24, and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava, 17, were both return the crown After eight months in office, UmaSofia Srivastava announced her resignation, saying her "personal values no longer align with the organization's direction."
Fans believe there is something hidden behind the two beauty queens' incident. In Noelia Voigt's post, fans discovered that if you combine the capital letters in the first 11 sentences, the message "I am Silenced" appears.
Before Noelia Voigt returned her crown, Miss USA communications director Claudia Michelle also announced her resignation, citing a toxic work environment and the organization's financial struggles.
In 2023, Miss Universe Indonesia contestants were accused of being peeped at during the anthropometric test. The organizers of Miss Grand International 2022 were accused of exploiting contestants, leaving them exhausted due to their tight schedules. Miss Venezuela 2018 was also suspended because contestants denounced each other. "sell out".
According to HindustanTimes, When the British and Americans were no longer interested in Miss World and Miss Universe, these organizations brought the contest to new markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Beauty pageants once opened a path out of poverty in Venezuela, which is known as the "homeland of beauty queens" with six Miss World titles and nine Miss Universe titles. In a country with high inflation and widespread hunger, many girls consider beauty pageants a "ticket" to emigrate and change their lives. However, according to AP, Beauty pageants in Venezuela are getting harder to come by, as investors tighten their belts due to economic troubles.
In her 2015 memoir, Miss Venezuela contestant Patricia Velasquez wrote that she had sex with an older man to pay for her rent in Caracas, her breast implants, and her pageant dresses. “Not everyone has to go to that extent, but that was my reality,” she wrote.
Amy Argetsinger, lifestyle editor of The Washington Post and author of a book about beauty queens, said in an interview with NPR "The viewership of these shows on television has been declining for the past 20 years. But there are all sorts of small beauty pageants that you've never heard of that continue to exist out there. It's possible that the big ones like Miss America, Miss USA can continue to operate in the same way."
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