Today, traditional beauty contests are not as popular as they used to be. Now there are many ways for beauties to declare themselves to the world without any competition. But a few decades ago, such events were a real event.
Women's beauty then seemed something unusual, covered with a veil of obscurity. Now the whole world is familiar with how charming women can be, and the organizers of the competitions are forced to come up with more and more new types of competitions.
The emergence of beauty contests
The very appearance of this type of competition has roots in ancient times. It is based on Greek mythology. According to records and legends that have come down to our time, the first beauty competition was held between the goddesses of Olympus – Hera, Athena and Aphrodite.
To make everything as honest and impartial as possible, the goddesses appointed themselves a judge from among mortals – a shepherd named Paris. It was he who chose the first winner of the beauty contest – Aphrodite, who became the eternal patroness and protector of the young man and all his people.
In addition, there is indirect evidence that competitions were also held in the ancient city of Troy to determine the most beautiful girl. Candidates were judged by representatives of all classes and fields of activity – from artists to soldiers and farmers.
The oldest competitions between beauties, which were documented, took place in the 5th century BC in a city called Corinth. The then ruler of these lands, Kipelis, ordered the creation of not just a competition, but a real annual holiday in honor of the goddess of the earth, Gaia.
The whole country appreciated the undertakings of Kipelis, so this holiday began to be held throughout Ancient Greece. The most impressive were the celebrations and competitions of beauties that took place in Athens. But after the beauty contests and the celebration of the Day of the Goddess of the Earth, the center unofficially moved to the island of Lesvos, located in the Aegean Sea.
Some time after this, the tradition of holding beauty contests reached Ancient Babylon. In general, it was a traditional competition in which noble women competed for the right to be called the most beautiful in the whole kingdom. But the Babylonian beauty contests had one feature – after the completion of the competition, auctions were held, similar to a modern auction. Noble men could buy the winner from the family and take her as their wife.
The inhabitants of such ancient states as China and Malaysia also held their competitions between beauties. However, they differed significantly from all similar competitions around the world. It was a deeply religious ceremony, the purpose of which was to find the most beautiful and magnificent maiden in order to solemnly sacrifice her. It was a cruel and bloody way to pay respect to one of the ancient gods or a bloodthirsty spirit.
Even in the harsh religious countries that were subject to the Ottoman Empire, something similar to beauty contests was held. The owners of numerous harems constantly competed among themselves, choosing the most beautiful among the free maidens. And, of course, they took the winner of this competition under their protection.
For a long time, in the numerous tribes of Australia and the adjacent islands, competitions were held (and are held today) between young girls. They compete with each other in order to win the attention of the most “enviable” groom in the tribe and the opportunity to become the mother of his children. Although in some places they strive to win with the same zeal in order to be fed to wild animals as a sacrificial offering.
African contests between beauties also differed from all the others. Traditionally, African tribesmen chose the most beautiful African women at an annual ceremony. Only now no one paid attention to the appearance, face and skills of young women.
People were only interested in… the size of their priests. Most of the winners actually had such volumes of their dignity that they could not walk and get up without the help of outsiders. But the impressive volume of the buttocks was considered by Africans as a guarantee of healthy and strong offspring.
In Russia, peculiar beauty contests were also held. They were not a simple competition, but a real holiday, timed to coincide with the marriage of a king or prince. Thus, the ruler of the state was looking for a wife. Beauties from all over Russia were called to the competition, moreover, the social status, nobility and level of prosperity of her family did not matter. Only beauty and health, necessary for the birth of healthy heirs.
The competition of beauties in the 19th and 20th centuries
Until 1888, all beauty contests were mostly local in nature. The very first competition, which laid the foundations of the world competition, took place in the same year, on September 19, at one of the best holiday destinations in Belgium. Few of the organizers guessed the foundation of what phenomenon they laid that day. If you look at that competition and at all those taking place in our time, then several serious differences will catch your eye.
All candidates were evaluated by anonymous members of the judging organization, created specifically for this purpose. Moreover, initially there was a strict selection only on the basis of photographs that were sent in advance. The main stage of the competition was also held behind closed doors.
Participants were strictly forbidden to contact with any of the outsiders, appear in front of the public and, moreover, communicate with the jury members. They traveled in closed carriages. The contestants lived and prepared for the tests in a separate building allocated for them. They were not even allowed to communicate with each other.
According to the few members of the press who were admitted to these competitions, all the men and women who were present as spectators were dressed in almost the same way.
For men, a tailcoat was mandatory, and for women, a long dress in neutral colors. The winner of this serious and strict competition was a young eighteen-year-old girl from Guadeloupe named Bertha Sucaret. As a reward, she received a cash prize of 5,000 francs.
The proposal to hold this competition was warmly welcomed by representatives of other countries. The German and American organizers showed the most enthusiasm. Germany was the first country, after Belgium, to officially hold a beauty pageant. This event became a real sensation for the European people and quickly assumed the status of a traditional one.
Why was there such a wide response? Simply because girls of any class could participate in it – each had an honest chance to win this difficult competition. This was proved by the very first winner of the German competition between women for the right to bear the title of the most beautiful girl in the country in 1909. She became an ordinary tobacco saleswoman, originally from East Prussia. This example has inspired many girls all over Germany.
A little later, the Americans joined in holding this event in their homeland. But the long preparation paid off – it was the competitions held in the USA that later became the standards for the whole world. In September 1921, the first competitions were held and, of course, the first winner appeared. She was a girl named Margaret Gorman. She was the daughter of an official in the US Department of Agriculture.
Remarkably, this was the world's first public display of a semi-nude female body. The contestants performed in the same swimsuits, which allowed them to appreciate their beauty on a deeper level.
At the same time, Miss America was an example of modesty and purity. According to the contract, the winners had to travel around the country as the face of advertising companies for another year after the end of the competition.
Severe restrictions were imposed on the girls during this annual tour. They were not allowed to go out into society, drink alcoholic beverages, and appear at events. The main condition is to maintain the image of a young, chaste and modest virgin.
And a special commission strictly monitored the observance of these rules. In case of violation of any of these terms of the contract, the winner was deprived of the opportunity to continue cooperation with the organizers, prizes and titles were confiscated from her.
And the awards were really serious and varied. In addition to the usual monetary reward (albeit considerable), other prizes were also presented. The most notable thing on the list of awards was a grant to study at a higher education institution of the girl's choice, with the cost of the entire tuition not exceeding $ 50,000. This award was especially desired, because at that time women's education was considered a very prestigious and promising investment.
A new round in the development of beauty contests was the emergence and popularization of television. The 1954 Miss America pageant was broadcast live to all viewers for the first time in history. All the records that were set before that were broken on this day. The show was watched by more than 40% of all TV viewers, more than 30 million people in total.
It was in the 20th century that the first competitions between beauties on a global scale were held. This event took place in 1951 in the capital of Great Britain. The winners were determined immediately in two categories – “Miss World” and “Miss Universe”. For the first time, the world community encountered such open performances of girls in bathing suits, so the reaction was very violent and emotional.
Beauty contests in Russia
The first Russian beauty contests … were not Russian. Although all the participants were from this country. The competition itself between the Russians was held in Paris and became an annual event. In 1927, the first winner was announced – a 19-year-old Russian woman named Kira Sklyarova. Until 1929, there were no strict regulations for this competition, so several enthusiasts from among the jury members proposed their own version of these rules.
Many domestic figures of culture and art supported this competition. Among the most notable figures were Bunin, Korovin, Kuprin, Chaliapin and Rachmaninoff. But with the development of the Soviet Union, beauty contests were no longer held so often.
The first competitions between beauties in the USSR were already held in 1988, almost 60 years after the first competitions with the participation of Russian women. The Komsomol was responsible for organizing this event, the sponsor was the Burda printing concern. The scale of this event shook the imagination of the then resident of the country – qualifying competitions were held between tens of thousands of residents of Moscow.
Beauty contests were especially fond of the Russian people, so almost immediately a huge number of serious and not very competitions arose throughout the country. They were held on different scales, but there was always a Russian flavor.
What contests were held throughout the USSR:
- Comic competitions like “Miss Hips” or “Miss Breasts”.
- Competitions among representatives of certain professions: Miss Journalist, Miss Tourism, Miss Plant, Miss Department Store.
- Competitions between school and university students, for example, Miss Moscow State University.
- Traditional contests “Miss Russia”, “Beauty of Russia”.
Participants from Russia also did not go unnoticed at international competitions. In 1992, there was one of the most high-profile victories of Russian women at the Miss World contest. This honorary title was achieved by 18-year-old Yulia Kurochkina.
Just 6 years later, a Russian woman named Rosalia Muravyova achieved even greater success – she won first place in the competition between supermodels from around the world. Elena Rogozhina twice won prizes in such prestigious competitions as Miss Russia and Miss Europe.
Beauty contests have always been a controversial phenomenon. Even now, many are not sure about the appropriateness of holding this competition, because beauty is a very subjective thing. In the 1980s, there were numerous protests in Europe and America against the active use of attractive and sexy female images in advertising and business. The bulk of the negative are the scandals around these shows. Announcements about unfair competition are constantly sent to someone's address.
Even the earliest Miss America winners were accused of being “dragged to first place” by wealthy relatives. And in 1972, another scandal shocked the European public – it turned out that the entire jury at the competitions for a long time was just a hoax, and the fate of the participants was solely decided by the organizer of the competition named Eric Morley.
Today, passions around these shows almost do not stop. And scandal and discussion are the key to popularity.
History and Secret Secrets of the Beauty Contest documentary 2015
