The Most Beautiful Girl in the World: Beauty Pageants and National Identity

Sarah Banet—Weiser complicates the standard feminist take on beauty pageants in this intriguing look at a hotly contested but enduringly popular American ritual. She focuses on the Miss America pageant in particular, considering its claim to be an accurate representation of the diversity of contemporary American women. Exploring the cultural constructions and legitimations that go on during the long process of the pageant, Banet—Weiser depicts the beauty pageant stage as a place where conce...