Ethnic pageants shed new light on age-old tradition

By Hanh Quach
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 12, 1996


Arizona Daily Wildcat

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Tiffany Staten entered her first pageant when she was 28 months old.

After walking around in puffy dresses all day, Staten, a journalism senior, says all she could think about was how she did not want to be there.

Near the end of the pageant, she went up to the stage to answer the final question. When asked whom she would like to be when she grew up, Staten announced to the judges that she was tired then walked off the stage and fell asleep in her father's lap, her mother, Carolyn Goudeau Staten recalls.

But Staten ended up first runner-up at the Arizona Baby Pageant, her mother says laughing.

"She was a smart baby, very intelligent and very agressive," she says.

Twenty years later, Staten is still competing in pageants.

On stage last month, the 22-year-old did not march off the stage when she won the title of Miss Black Arizona.

Delivering the monologue "And Still I Rise," by Maya Angelou, and answering impromptu questions are only part of what helped Staten earn the title.

"I've worked hard to achieve what I want and I want to be heard, not just seen," she says.

American women have competed in beauty pageants since the first documented pageant in Rehoboth Beach, Del., says Gerdeen Dyer, a journalist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Dyer has covered beauty pageants for the past 12 years.

In the1920s, Hollywood often had pageants to publicize its starlets, he says. Since then, 75 years of Miss America pageants and 44 years of Miss USA pageants have seeped into Western culture.

Dyer cites Homer's Iliad as the earliest record of a beauty pageant, albeit mythological, in which Greek goddesses Hera, Aphrodite and Athena each tried to bribe Paris to proclaim her most beautiful.

Pageants, Dyer says, are ways American culture idealizes beautiful young women.

The first beauty contests in the 1880s, held on beaches, glorified femininity, he says. Modern day pageants have also continued in this tradition, he says.

"I'm surprised at how closely most pageants continue to and are geared toward young women," Dyer says.

But UA Women's Studies professor Julia Bal要 argues that idealizing beauty tells women that their value hinges on beauty. With this idealization, if a woman does not meet the culture's beauty standards, Bal要 says "you have nothing to be valued for."

"If you're interested in supporting women as human beings, beauty places an extreme limitation on what is valued," she says.

Asked whether this contributes to an over-idyllic view of women, Dyer says pageants simply offer a "different" way for women to be admired.

"It would be quite a narrow view if that were the only kind of women admired," he says, adding that the culture also admires women athletes and intellects.

He says most pageant fans understand and view them strictly as entertainment.

Dyer says pageants are an important part of American culture because they serve as a vehicle to show diverse talents in women.

Pageants also serve as the female counterpart to sports, he says.

Bal要 agrees that male bodies are exploited in sports as are women's bodies in pageants.

However, she says, the fame and fortune that accompany sports stars are rarely equalled by women, except those who hit supermodel status.

"The chances for making a living off your body are much less if you're a woman," she says, adding that models do not earn the same type of respect as sports figures.

For example, Bal要 says, basketball player Michael Jordan is admired for his physique but also skill on the court. However, supermodels are rarely, if ever, admired for their intelligence or skill.

In spite of the negative view cast on pageants where beauty falls in as a key factor, Staten speaks in favor of the competitions because "it's a stepping stone for women. It encourages women to achieve," citing actress Halle Berry and singer Vanessa Williams as among the women who have competed in beauty pageants and continued on to different types of success.

"Women who compete in these pageants are strong. It's a good way to show women are agressive and have goals," she says.

But Bal要 argues that although women have achieved goals by virtue of these pageants, "does it value them as human beings?"

Staten says she is pleased to hold the Miss Black Arizona title because it helps build valuable networks.

Formerly the first runner-up for Fiesta Bowl Court 1995, Staten says her strong desire to represent black women and young people prompted her to compete in the Miss Black Arizona pageant.

Competitors of the 25-year-old Miss Black Arizona pageant participated in swimwear, evening gown, question/answer and talent categories.

Staten says race-specific pageants, particularly Miss Black Arizona, are very important. Until recently, black women were not allowed to participate in pageants, she says.

Although women of color do compete in pageants now, ethnic pageants are seen more as a celebration of one's culture, she says.

Cheryl Yazzie, newly crowned Miss Native American University of Arizona, says cultural pageants are important because it gives minority groups more recognition. In addition, Native American women rarely compete in standard beauty pageants.

Contestants for the Miss Native American UA pageant however, do not walk around in evening gowns or bathing suits.

Requisites for this cultural pageant include knowledge of Native American heritage and a blend of both modern and traditional talents and be of Native American descent, said Eugena Anderson, last year's Miss Native American UA.

Choosing Miss Native American UA includes a series of essays and interviews by a panel of judges.

Since the primary reason for this position is to represent Native Americans at the UA, Anderson said, contestants must display significant knowledge of their Native American heritage and prove that they are able to blend that knowledge with the university atmosphere.

Yazzie, biology sophomore, says she had a lot of family support when she decided she would apply to be Miss Native American UA.

"I wanted to try something different," she says, adding that the position would put her in touch with different types of people.

Yazzie, who was reared in Window Rock in the Navajo nation, speaks fluent Navajo.

In competition, for a modern talent, she told judges about the father of her clan. Close-knit communities became known as clans in the Navajo tradition. Members of clans need not be blood relatives, Yazzie says.

For a traditional talent, Yazzie explained the significance of cradle boards in Navajo culture. Yazzie says these wooden baby carriers are important in preserving Navajo traditions.

Both women will reign for one year.

For Yazzie, that one year means representing the UA's Native American student body across the nation and educating others about Native American culture.

"Culture is very important, whether you're at home or away," Yazzie says.

After that, Yazzie says she will continue through medical school and become and obstetrician.

For Staten, this year as Miss Black Arizona means various speaking engagements, media interviews and participating in parades between classes.

The $1,000 award she received for the title will go to further her education, she says.

Staten, who aspires to be an NBC network anchor, says among her first goals after December graduation is to get a job at a local television station and continue participating in other beauty pageants such as Miss Phoenix and Miss Arizona.

Whatever triumphs or pitfalls she may encounter, Staten says she will always remember, "I'm a strong woman and black, no matter what comes my way."

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