CommentaryIs pageantry sexist"

By Liz Funk
ALTAMONT — Although the Altamont Fair pageant was a success, and the contestants and audience appeared to have enjoyed themselves, there are some underlying political issues in the pageant that call for some attention: Is pageantry one of the remnants of a sexist society from the past" Does this pageant bring sexism to a community level"
Sexist" Yes, and no.
Publicly criticized by the feminist community since the first protest of the Miss America pageant in 1969, pageants today are under extreme scrutiny from those unappreciative of the idea of "scoring" women on a scale of one to 10.

The Miss America pageant, which traditionally takes places every September, is currently without a network to broadcast it. With its future up in the air, many feel that beauty pageants should stay where they started — in the past.
"Not only do pageants uphold certain beauty standards that are dangerous and nearly impossible to attain, they pit women against each other," asserts the National Organization for Women (NOW) in a fact sheet.
Postings from members on NOW’s website (now.org) included women remarking that contestants in today’s national beauty pageants "look like they haven’t been fed in a few years."

Those involved in the Altamont Fair pageant Tuesday had some thoughts on the issue. The swimsuit portion in the Miss Altamont Fair pageant is gone.
"Some people complained about it," said Larry Fronk, the pageant’s organizer. "I guess they wanted to see the girls in a bathing suit."

The contestants interviewed didn’t feel the Altamont Fair Pageant is particularly sexist. Abbey Schultz explained that she entered for a confidence booster.
"Just being able to get up there and be confident is a good thing," she said.
Although Schultz agreed that grading women is disempowering, she felt that the Altamont Fair Pageant was far more innocuous than others, and that "pageants based solely on looks would be sexist."

When prompted with the idea that Hooters pageants are based solely on physical appearance, last year’s Miss Altamont Fair, Jessamine O’Brien agreed that such a pageant would be sexist.
Corrin Schultz, who became this year’s first runner-up in the Miss Pageant explained that the pageant was more a display of "being comfortable in your own skin"If it wasn’t that way, I would have won a false contest," she said.
She went on to explain that, although the Altamont pageant is a beauty pageant, "It wasn’t just exterior beauty." All contestants interviewed agreed that the interview was definitely the most important—and most heavily-emphasized portion of the pageant.
This year’s winner, Elizabeth Mosall, is "so excited to represent the fair!"

She will be there to greet crowds and be present at events, and would be glad to talk to anyone about her experience in the pageant. So, if you see someone there in a blue sash and jeweled tiara, it’s unlikely that it’s anyone except her.

Editor’s note: Liz Funk writes a column on teen issues for The Enterprise. She is the founder of a local NOW chapter for high school students.