Being a land of youth and energy America is very much attracted to idealized beauty and feminine charm. The glow of youth which radiates from a nation infatuated with its own adolescence expresses itself most effectively in beauty pageants. These fall into many categories from Miss Teenager to Miss Housewife to the queen of local pageants and proms. Almost any woman can be eligible for some beauty contest to suit her age and talent.
The one, however, which captures the attention of all Americans is the Miss America beauty pageant held in the fall every year in Atlantic City. This highly organized, publicized and televised event seeks every year to find the one young lady in America who possesses not only beauty, but wit, charm and intelligence and talent. She also must represent traditional wholesome family values. As such, she is more than just a beauty, she is a symbol of the complete woman.
The first miss America pageant was held in 1921. At first it was only a pageant which emphasized beauty, but in 1935 a talent competition was added. In 1943 a college student from UCLA was crowned and in 1945 Bess Meyerson became the first Jewish woman and college graduate to serve as Miss America.
Beginning in 1954 the pageant was televised and it became one of the longest-running live events in the history of television. In recent times there have been many "firsts." For example, in 1970 Cheryl Brown from Iowa became the first Afro-American woman to compete in the national pageant and fourteen years later in 1984 Vanessa Williams became the first black woman to actually win.
In 1994 Heather Whitestone who was profoundly deaf became the first woman with a disability to be crowned. As recently as 1996 and for the first time ever the American public was given a say in selecting the contestant who would become Miss America. Through a call-in vote held during the telecast, viewers served as one of the judges for the top-ten finalists.
Each state in America through a process of elimination presents one candidate to compete for the honorary title. All chosen candidates from each of the fifty states converge at Atlantic City, New Jersey to be subjected to a series of competitions and tests. The competition is fierce and tensions run high. The young women are usually not yet sufficiently wise in the ways of the world but filled with enthusiasm and lofty ideals. So, their beauty combined with innocence attracts the attention of the whole nation.
When a winner is finally chosen, she is crowned with jewels, flowered with bouquets, and a queenly robe is placed upon her shoulders to initiate her reign . Amid the flashing bulbs of the press and the accolade of the audience she knows that her life may never be the same. The Queen of England may rule for several decades, but Miss America can reign for but one year.