In its most basic form, a beauty pageant is an event which displays young unmarried women in a ritual competition. It is an event which generates money and power for the winners. However, it is also a form of social interaction for the contestants.
Traditionally, a beauty pageant is a competition to crown one person as queen. However, there are many variations of the competition. Beauty pageants can range from a small ritual competition to an international mega-event. Typically, a contestant is expected to display a number of qualities, including physical charm, mental fortitude, and personality.
The beauty pageant industry has evolved since the 80’s. Some of the more notable innovations include the use of social media to engage participants.
One of the most popular contests is the Miss World competition. This global competition evaluates contestants on their appearance, talent, charitable contributions, and use of multimedia.
Unlike the Miss America pageant, the Miss World competition only accepts female contestants. Other contests require the participation of male contestants.
Earlier on, pageants primarily focused on physical attributes. But in the late nineties, the beauty pageant industry saw a change. A new segment was introduced in the form of “Beauty With A Purpose” (BWAP).
There are hundreds of local beauty pageants that feed into the big leagues. Many of the pageants offer a community service project for contestants to participate in.
In addition to the usual swimsuit competition, some of the bigger pageants now feature an inner beauty competition. Generally, the inner beauty contest is judged by a panel of judges in a private interview.