I know this is outright shameless self-promotion, but I want to take a moment to introduce myself to the Feministing community. My name is Jordan and I am the reigning Miss Illinois Beauties 2009. I am a feminist, a passionate supporter of women's rights, and a long-time fan of this blog and the issues discussed here. I am eager to begin working on networking myself and promoting my platform issues throughout my home state of Illinois and across the country. As a feminist who is also a pageant queen, I am well aware of the negative view many women have of beauty pageants and beauty queens. We are often portrayed as dumb, pretty girls who are just pawns in bikini parades created by men. However, the world of pageantry has come a long way in the last decade or so, and we are no longer just pretty faces & hot bodies. We are women on a mission, each with our own personal message to spread and our own voice to be heard. One of my missions as Miss Illinois is to fight for the equality and reproductive freedom of women everywhere.
I am also aware that very few pageant queens, if any, have ever pursued a platform on women's issues pertaining to reproductive freedom, abortion, and comprehensive sex-education for our youth. The few pageant queens who have touched on these subjects in the past, such as Miss America 2002, almost always talk about abstinence-until-marriage only, because the subjects of sex, abortion, and birth control are still viewed as "inappropriate". I disagree. These are important, everyday issues that are vital to women and girls' health, and someone needs to talk openly and frankly about them. And if no one else is going to, then I will gladly take up the cause! If we pageant queens are expected to make a difference in the world, then we need to become less conservative and begin opening up about uncomfortable issues such as sex-education, abortion, and reproductive rights. I'm not shy about donning my crown & sash and talking frankly about birth control, comprehensive sex-education, and abortion. Like millions of other women in this country, I was faced with an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy at age 21 and had an abortion. I am probably the only pageant queen to ever admit something like that. There is no longer room to be ashamed of this, the time has come when women like myself NEED to speak out about our experiences so that we can eventually dismantle the stigma and shame that still surrounds the subject of abortion. And as a pageant queen, I will gladly take up the torch and lead the way for other women to do the same. When I took on the job of being Miss Illinois, I didn't do so just to wear a pretty crown on my head. I chose to do this because I wanted to be a leader that other women could look up to. I feel strongly about these issues, and I knew that having the status and title of a pageant queen would give me a wide venue through with to meet important people and get the word out about this important cause.
I am currently working on contacting the National Organization for women at the state and national level, the Feminist Majority Foundation, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Ms. Magazine to offer my support in our tireless battle for equality and reproductive freedom. As a state pageant queen (and hopefully someday a NATIONAL pageant queen), I would be honored to be a public symbol for these causes.
Sincerely,
Jordan Barnstable
Miss Illinois Beauties 2009
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Hi Jordan: Welcome to Feministing. I look forward to hearing your perspective. I think you will find that very few women or men here have a negative impression of beauty queens as people. There is no doubt that the women who enter them are very intelligent and benefit greatly from the scholarship money. This money enables them to get an education, and education for women benefits the entire society.
That does not mean that pageants are free from feminist scrutiny. As great as the scholarship money is, pageants reward intelligent, talented, well-spoken women for their looks.
I admire and respect your platform and your courage, and I wish you personally the best. I will continue to criticize pageants until they remove the looks aspect of the competition.
I agree with FrumiousB. While pageants may give women a platform from which to advocate for feminist causes, they only award that platform to whom they judge to be the most beautiful contestant. I think it's sad that pageants remain firmly committed to judging a woman's outer beauty instead of her inner character and accomplishments.
That being said, I am excited to hear about your platform and openness to share your life experiences. I wish you all the best in your reign.
I'm from Illinois, too ^_^ What part of Illinois are you from?
Feminism is definitely accepting of Pageant Queens, it's just the pageants themselves that catch the flack. And who knows, maybe a reform of pageants could be a possibility? (as far as what's considered "appropriate" is concerned.)
I'd echo the folks above in their comments on pageants themselves, but I wanted to add this:
Thank you for your platform! I actually got really pumped as I read your post. It's wonderful to see someone take on such a vital topic and not be silenced by the pageant powers-that-be. Thank you for being such an outspoken advocate for reproductive health and rights.
Do you know Miss New York? Can we get her on our side too?
BTW- awesome! You rock! Some visit my Planned Parenthood!
xoxoxox
I read all of your posts concerning the way that many pageants have focused too much on womenn's looks, and I just wanted to add that the pageant I competed in did NOT include a swimsuit competition. :-) Also, I tried to include my official photo in this post with HTML coding, but I guess it didn't work. :-(