Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa stands alongside Laura Gonzalez of Colombia as they anxiously wait for an announcement that could change their life forever. When Demi-Peters is announced the winner, her picture perfect smile radiates like the sun and her perfectly golden skin glows as she accepts the crown and the title of Miss Universe 2017. Beauty Contest like Miss Universe, however, can be harmful in that they set unrealistic beauty standards, affect women’s self esteem, and just overall degrade women. Beauty contest can be highly objectifying to women and they lower their self-esteem. Watching beauty pageants with contestants who have flawless and thin toned bodies can really affect the way women see themselves. Women …show more content…
Contestants must be at least eighteen and under twenty eight to participate in pageants, this is around the age when most women attend college and college can be very expensive and hard to pay for. One way women can help pay for college is by participating in beauty contest. What will Miss America 2018 win? Well, besides a sparkly majestic crown that degrades women, of course! According to the Miss America Organization, the winner will be prized with $50,000 in scholarship money and the runner-up will receive $20,000 in scholarship money. I agree with Hilary Friedman that although beauty contest aren’t for everyone and that they can be quite uncomfortable for women, it is “an option that can pay dividends for thousands.” However, I also agree that there are other more appropriate ways of getting scholarship money, ways that aren’t so degrading to women. Although beauty contest can be beneficial for some people, they simply overall degrade women. Beauty contest are harmful to women in that they create unrealistic beauty standards in society and they lower their self-esteem. Beauty pageants do more damage than they do good and they should end before they cause anymore damage to our women and our