As I mentioned in a previous post, I love watching pageants like Miss USA each year. I just think it’s fun and I like to make my picks and predictions for who will make the top 10 (I also love to rant and rave about the girl’s gown choices!)
The MISS USA pageant airs tonight on NBC at 7 p.m. EST.
The reason I wanted to write about this pageant was because the pageant’s contestant photos this year stirred up quite a bit of controversy.
Let’s take a look:
You can see the full gallery of shots here. If you’ll recall last year, Miss California Carrie Prejean was kicked out of the Miss Universe organization when scandalous photos of her were released online (not to mention the public scrutiny she faced for announcing that she was opposed to gay marriage.)
I think these sexy boudoir-style photos of the Miss USA contestants this year were were well thought-out to drum up publicity for the pageant since pageants in general are not as popular as they once were and NBC would like to get their viewership up. (read more about the controversy, here)
To me, these photos look like they came straight out of a Victoria’s Secret catalog. When you really think about it, these women aren’t wearing any less than they do in the swimsuit portion of the pageant, but the way they are posed, their expressions, etc are clearly meant to be sexually enticing.
I personally don’t see anything wrong with it. Do I think they are pushing the limits? Yes. Do I think it’s all for publicity? Of course!
What do YOU think of these sexy boudoir photos of the Miss USA contestants?
Will you watch the pageant tonight?
Let me know in the comments below and as always, thanks for reading!
xoxo,
Veronika.
PS- the makeup artist who did my wedding hair and makeup also did a lot of the makeup for that photo shoot with the Miss USA contestants and she also does their makeup for the actual pageant! Controversy aside, I think my makeup artist is super talented! Now I know what I want my makeup to look like when I take my b-pics (I never had a chance to do them before our wedding!)
I agree with you, this is probably all about publicity, but I LOVE watching pageants and will definitely tune in tonight!
I'd love to see more of your wedding pics with hair and makeup!
jaclyn- I did a post about our wedding here :
https://veronabrit.blogspot.com/2010/01/our-wedding-was-featured-and-most.html
🙂
I used to love watching the pageants and would get together with my gfs, but haven't watched one in a long time. I think the pictures look great and agree that it's probably more clothing than their swimsuits. No big deal.
I think the girls look gorgeous. I think part of the problem is that people still have a very old fashioned opinion on pageants. Pageants are trying to be more modern and less stuffy now, and I think it is a great idea!
On another note, I am so excited to watch tonight. Miss Pennsylvania is from my city and is the cousin to a close family friend.
I haven't watched a pageant for a long time, prob 10 years. I don't really know why though. I think I'll watch it tonight though, these picture have me intrigued.
I do think that the pageants were becoming dated so maybe this will help increase viewers.
I think it's hypocritical for the organization to use photos like this after criticizing contestants in the past for having "scandalous" photos surface. That being said, the pageant is all about beauty and these pictures are appropriate for the moment and obviously showcase their beauty. I love pageants, but like Miss USA much better than Miss America. I feel like Miss America is a bit dated and not as "fun". I will definitely be watching… I watch every year! 🙂
I think the girls look amazing in these photos, love the hair and make-up (if your MUA did this, she is awesome!)
But I do think it's a bit strange to have the contestants posed suggestively in lingerie, a lot of them aren't even 21 yet! And I thought these pageants were more about talent than modeling.
I just look at it as another Donald Trump stunt. I haven't watched in years and have minimal interest it-I'll be watching the Survivor finale tonight 🙂
i think the photos are gorgeous! having done boudoir pictures myself, i can appreciate their purpose, but on the other hand, it places an immense amount of weight on sex appeal. i feel slightly divided about it, but at the end of the day, it is a beauty pageant, and it's definitely fun to watch!
I agree with everything Andi said :). The pictures are beautiful, but I just can't get into the Miss USA pageant. We all know that beauty is basically a required part of competing, but I think Miss USA focuses on that one aspect way too much, to the detriment of everything else. Recall the Miss Teen South Carolina incident lol. That pageant was also part of Trump's organization, right? Clearly they don't value brains.
I think that's why I still prefer Miss America. Yeah, it may be a little boring but at least they try to highlight academic accomplishments, scholarship, charity, etc. One of the ladies that won Miss America a few years ago was a student at my college so it was fun cheering her on! Our campus got really into it, and she represented us well. (This was before the pageant lost all of its popularity lol).
I agree with Kelsey. A hypocritical move by the organizers. And it also bothers me that though pageants are framed as creating "role models" (rather than just models) these pictures make it all about sex appeal, which isn't an appropriate aspiration for the little girls who watch.
That said, I love watching pageants – the gowns, the glamour, seeing who's most in shape, and comparing the judges' scores to my own.
First, thank you so much for the reminder of the pagent. I just started recording it! Second, I see both sides of the argument on this one (the lawyer in me comes out), but I don't think it is the end of the world that these girls pose for these pictures.
🙂 Marcie
Hello! I'm new to your blog 🙂 I think the winner Miss Michigan is drop dead gorgeous…watch out Kim kardash
I don't mind about the photos. The girls looks amazingly beautiful. However I was a bit disappointed with the pageant, and I'm not the biggest fan of the new Miss USA. She seems to lack the poise that I would like to see as a representative for our country's women.
Jessica- I thought Miss USA's answer to her question about birth control pills being covered by insurance was all over the place! her answer just jumped from one idea to another. She is very pretty, but I just felt that she wasn't the best choice. I was rooting for Oklahoma.
Veronika, I agree with you about Oklahoma's answer, however I believe the winner was determined based on overall score not just the final answer score…right?
It amazes me how women don't ralize how plain these women look without makeup. Stop being so gullible!
Sorry, I meant "realize".
anon- what amazes you about it? MOST women look better with a little makeup on. So what!? It's a beauty pageant, not a "who looks best without makeup pageant." Pageants are about the glitz, glamour, sparkly gowns and big hair and dramatic makeup. That's the entire concept of it. I'd also like to add that I think most of these girls even not made up would look pretty darn cute. Just because they wear a lot of makeup for TV cameras, it doesn't automatically mean that they look horrible without it.
Veronika – I was rooting for Oklahoma too!
I hate to tell you this but how you look without makeup and your hair done is how you really look! So, if it's a "beauty" pageant, they should be on stage without makeup, hair, plastic surgery and all the other things they do. I don't expect a girl from Texas who wears a lot of makeup and dyes her dark hair blond, to understand this. I've lived in Texas for a long time and have always found the women here to be very fake. Now, it seems to be spreading to the rest of the country.
Anon- I can't help but to be a little bit amused by your comment.
YES no hair styling and makeup is "how you really look" but the CONCEPT of pageants is about glamour, hair, makeup, sparkly dresses etc. It's about the entertainment value of women who are "dolled up." It's about the ratings. Even actors in TV shows have to wear a lot of makeup now that television is in HD! No one on television wears absolutely no makeup, it's just not how things are.
By the way, if you are reffering to me in your comment as "a girl from Texas who wears a lot of makeup and dyes her dark hair blonde" I have a few comments to address that:
1. I am not from Texas. I live in texas. I was born in Europe and lived in Canada most of my life. I have no idea what bearing this would have on my "understanding" that beauty pageants are what they are.
2. I do not have dark hair. My hair is light brown and I get highlights put it in. Most of my hair is actually my natural color, so what you are seeing is my real haircolor mixed with highlights.
3. I don't think I wear "a lot" of makeup, but everyone is free to have their own opinon.
Lastly, beauty pageants have been around for decades. It's not that suddenly women started to wear makeup and have nice hair. Women who care about how they look and want to enhance their beauty a bit with makeup have been doing it for centuries.
Are you going to do a recap of Miss USA Veronika? I'd love to read it 🙂 It wasn't shown on free-to-air TV in Australia this year so it'd be great to hear more of your thoughts!