The Idealistic Portrayal of Women

Still to this day, the words “You are the winner of this year’s Miss American Pageant,” sounds through this nations ears as they witness another “perfect” woman crowned into the face of American beauty. We witness these winners enter into the stereotypical ideal of what a women should ultimately look and aspire to be. This image, who many still feel exists in modern day, however was amplified in the mid-1900s. Along with beauty pageants winners, women were put up against the image of unrealistic characters like Barbie dolls and exposed to Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe. All of which were a part of further creating that time period’s idea of how women should look and act and contributing to potential needed changes for the future.

The 1950’s specifically was a time that really shaped the standards for American women. The standard of beauty, race, intelligence and poise were all expected and were demonstrated by the Miss American Pageant. In this time era the pageant first aired on television, which was momentous in installing true national awareness of such portrayal of women. The message that transpired all over America was that the “dream” women should have a flawless swimsuit body, should be able to speak in front of millions of people with ease and have an innocence that draws people in. These women were looked at as beautiful objects that resembled our “respectable” nation.

Even though during this time Miss America Corporation had tried to changed their idea of pageants to be more of a prestigious and empowering competition, they still created false hope. The hope that one day a young girl: a daughter, a friend or relative would amount to Miss America; however kept families watching. Popular culture wanted people to t...

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...sages to the opposing side of the ideal women, but came a time that hinted that maybe the rights and views of women would eventually change.

As the 1950s moved through many images of women there were a few traits that stood strong. Beauty, whether it be in the perfect Miss American form, Barbie doll or sexy Marilyn Monroe was important. Girls at young ages were taught in a way that would shape American women for the future. Even though a more sexual image of a woman arose with Marilyn Monroe, America did not lose the sight of the non-realistic beauty and personality traits that were expected. However, each of the examples of women explained above contributed to what eventually was a time of change. The portrayal of women ultimately still has a lot of conflicting views when it comes to women’s looks, actions and sexuality but it has come a long way from the 1950s.