Hilary Levey Friedman Knihy

Exploring American feminism, this book examines the evolution of women's roles and societal expectations through the cultural phenomenon of beauty pageants. It highlights how these competitions have both reflected and influenced feminist movements, showcasing the complexities of empowerment and objectification. Through historical context and personal narratives, the work delves into the impact of pageants on women's identity and agency, offering a nuanced perspective on the intersection of beauty and feminism.

Friedman reveals the surprising ways pageants have been an empowering feminist tradition. She traces the role of pageants in many of the feminist movement’s signature achievements, including bringing women into the public sphere, helping them become leaders in business and politics, providing increased educational opportunities, and giving them a voice in the age of #MeToo. Friedman explores how pageants became so deeply embedded in American life from their origins as a P.T. Barnum spectacle at the birth of the suffrage movement, through Miss Universe’s bathing beauties to the talent- and achievement-based competitions of today. She looks at how pageantry has morphed into culture everywhere from The Bachelor and RuPaul’s Drag Race to cheer and specialized contests like those for children, Indigenous women, and contestants with disabilities. Friedman also acknowledges the damaging and unrealistic expectations pageants place on women in society and discusses the controversies, including Miss America’s ableist and racist history, Trump’s ownership of the Miss Universe Organization, and the death of child pageant-winner JonBenét Ramsey. --From publisher description

By analyzing the roots of these competitive after school activities and their contemporary effects, this title contextualizes elementary school-age children's activities, and suggests they have become proving grounds for success in the tournament of life - especially when it comes to coveted admission to elite universities, and beyond.