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Beauty contest: an introduction 選美大賽的歷史

A beauty contest, or beauty pageant, is a competition based mainly, though not always entirely, on the physical beauty of its contestants. Almost invariably, competitions for men and women are separate events, and those for men are not referred to as beauty contests. Beauty contests for women are more common, and winners are called beauty queens. Beauty contests for men, like Mr. Universe, are more likely to be "body building" contests-quite unlike the traditional "beauty contest" in which women are judged upon many attributes both physical and otherwise. However, in the 1990s, male "beauty contests" began to shift focus. Instead of only considering muscle mass, the competitions began to judge the natural physical attributes of the contestants as well as their physiques. These include Mr. World and Manhunt International.

Miss Japan Riyo Mori adjusts her crown after being crowned Miss Universe 2007 at the National Auditorium in Mexico City May 28, 2007. [Reuters]

There are also beauty contests for children. These events are often controversial, particularly when children are dressed provocatively and described in adult terms.

History of beauty contests

Choosing symbolic kings and queens for May Day and other festivities is an ancient custom in Europe in which beautiful young women symbolize their nation's virtues and other abstract ideas. The first modern American pageant was staged by P. T. Barnum in 1854, but his beauty contest was closed down by public protest-he previously held dog, baby, and bird beauty contests. He substituted daguerreotypes for judging, a practice quickly adopted by newspapers. Newspapers held photo beauty contests for many decades: In 1880, the first "Bathing Beauty Pageant" took place as part of a summer festival to promote business in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Contests became a regular part of summer beach life, with the most elaborate contest taking place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the "Fall Frolic" attracted women from many cities and towns.

The modern beauty pageant's origin is traceable to the Miss America Pageant, which was first held in Atlantic City in 1921, under the title "Inter-City Beauty Contest." The Miss America Pageant eventually included preliminary eliminations, an evening gown competition, musical variety shows, and judging by panel. Still, the contest was at first shunned by middle-class society. Pageants did not become respectable until World War II, when "beauty queens" were recruited to sell bonds and to entertain troops. Scholarships and talent competitions evoked even closer scrutiny of contestants' morals and backgrounds.

Other major contests include the yearly Miss World competition (founded by Eric Morley in 1951), Miss Universe (founded in 1952), Miss International and Miss Earth (founded in 2001 with environmental awareness as its concern). These are considered the Big Four pageants, the four largest and most famous international beauty contests. Minor contests, such as the Miss Bondi contest in Australia, are common throughout the world in the summer months. During the 1950s, pageants thrived to promote county fairs and local products. For example, some of Raquel Welch's titles included "Miss Photogenic" and "Miss Contour." Across the world, women from around the world participate each year in local competitions for the chance to represent their country's international title.

Mrs. Texas crowned in beauty contest

其實，選美活動從未脫離一個游戲規則，那就是選出男性心目中最有魅力的女人。就目的而言，西方選美與過去東方君主選美的不同之處，在于一種是為一個男人，一種是為了一群男人。社會學家們則將二者區分為，一個是父權專制文化的產物，一個是父權民主文化的產物。

選美大賽說到底，是利用美女來吸引眼球，是一種真正意義上的"注意力經濟"，觀眾的注意力給賽事的參與者帶來了巨大的財富。世界級選美賽事由于運作成熟，都有固定的贊助商，因此往往給賽事帶來上億美元的收益。

選美之所以有生命力，得益于其經濟聯姻所創造的神話。并在世界各地不斷地得到驗證。1952年，世界經濟大蕭條的時候，美國首次舉辦"環球小姐"選美大賽。隨之而來的是美國經濟的大復蘇。于是這次比賽也就成為美國經濟史上的一個神話，人們也首次嘗到了選美帶動經濟的甜頭。

而自從1996年，印度小姐首次在"世界小姐"選美比賽中獲勝后，世界選美比賽的后冠頻頻落在印度頭上，印度成了世界著名的美女盛產國，旅游業等產業迅速攀升，于是印度人提出了"美女救國"的口號。

在南美小國委內瑞拉的"美女經濟"眾所周知，選美是委內瑞拉頭號"工業"，該國美女在國際三大選美競賽中已獲得12次頭銜，被譽為"美人工廠"。該國多數人認為：這是一個對外表特別關注的社會。即使48小時發生兩次政變，即使是坦克橫行，電視臺仍在播出選美比賽，美女制造業也從沒有癱瘓。

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