The official line is still that Miss America isn't a beauty contest, it's a scholarship program. This is to a certain extent true -- you can't just stand around and be cute, you have to do something, even if that something is bouncing around spastically to Creedence Clearwater Revival. And the winner does get an assload of cash, which is good. It's just that most scholarship programs don't require the applicants to strut around in a bikini. (Personally, I'd like to see that requirement become more widespread -- you know, for a Rhodes Scholarship or a Fulbright.)
Anyway, it's not necessarily the standard of beauty we're talking about here -- it's probably more accurate to say that it's the standard of accomplishment for young women, which is, when you think about it, way, way scarier.
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Date: 2003-09-22 05:04 pm (UTC)Anyway, it's not necessarily the standard of beauty we're talking about here -- it's probably more accurate to say that it's the standard of accomplishment for young women, which is, when you think about it, way, way scarier.