What it means to be a ‘Miss’

Students and alumni celebrate strength in femininity through pageants

by Isabelle Manders

School of Law studying to be a civil rights attorney, started competing in pageants when she was 17. At 19, Hayes became the fourth Black woman in more than 60 years to be crowned Miss UGA.

“Winning that title was a much-needed reminder that I deserved to be here, that I had potential to do more,” Hayes said. “It opened doors for me that I could have never imagined … I think I’m still seeing the benefits from it four years later.”

In the latter part of her title year, Hayes, who is from Baxley, Georgia, used her platform to give rural students a community akin to the one Miss UGA gave to her. She created Rural Students Igniting Success and Education, or RISE, to assist rural students as they transition to college.

For many contestants, a “Miss” title means more than just wearing a crown and riding on parade floats — it means making an impact on your community.

“[Former Miss UGA 2022 Audrey Kittila] told me before I even stepped on stage, ‘If you win, you can do everything, or you can do nothing,’” Park said. “It’s every girl’s dream to dress up and [play] princess, but [pageants are also] giving women an opportunity and a stage to speak out.”

Hayes believes recent administrative changes, including the Miss America 2.0 rebranding, signal a cultural shift.

“The culture has changed. People realize that women are more than their bodies, they’re more than what they look like,” Hayes said.

In 2016, Miss Teen USA, which is under the same organization as Miss USA and Miss Universe, eliminated its swimsuit competition. Two years later, the Miss America Organization, which includes the Miss Georgia and Miss UGA preliminaries, did the same, rebranding from a “beauty pageant” to a “scholarship competition.”

“When Miss America moved into Miss America 2.0 it helped usher in a new era,” Kittila, UGA junior and current Miss Atlanta, said. “They increased focus on [preparing] the world for great women and to prepare great women for the world.”

Only 15 years old when crowned Miss Georgia Teen USA in 2019, UGA sophomore Isabella Bloedorn feels lucky to have joined pageantry following the movement to ensure young contestants are no longer hypersexualized. As a Latina, Bloedorn says she already faces being over-sexualized and even faced cyberbullying for her body.

While she thinks “teens are meant to be teens,” Bloedorn found the specific Miss America rebranding upsetting, especially after the organization shared a comment from the 1980s that “an educated woman does not parade around in a swimsuit.” The comment, made by a contestant’s parent, was shared in the organization’s equity and justice scholarship announcement in 2019.

“For Miss contestants, [the swimsuit competition] is less about sex appeal and more that a woman can feel sexy and comfortable in her body and still be accomplished and intelligent,” Bloedorn said. “If women want to do a pageant without swimsuit, that’s their prerogative, but don’t shame other women for wanting to do it.”

Bloedorn says she is often preemptively judged based on her looks and passions by others outside of the pageant world.

“As a woman, no matter what you do, someone’s gonna judge you,” Bloedorn said.

Pang Rogers believes many of these negative perceptions of women in pageants come from a lack of general understanding.

“I don’t think they understand how stressful and how much pressure is on you to say something succinct, yet really impactful, at the same time in front of a big audience,” Pang Rogers said. “I would always downplay my experience, even though I got so much from it, because I felt like there was a lot of initial judgment.”

Regardless of the system, winners often serve as symbols of their community’s identity. As these communities evolve, so does the title holder.

Both Bloedorn and Pang Rogers believe organizations that fail to adapt will ultimately lose all relevance.

Jerry Anthony, director of the Miss UGA competition since 1993, hopes changes to the entire process will encourage other young women to enter.

“Some people say that pageants are an outdated thing, but we continue to do it because we had four young women this year walk away with a scholarship,” Anthony said.

According to Hayes, winners should be relatable as well as exceptional.

“That also means women who can compete and win as their true selves,” Hayes said. “Now, we see women winning because they’re simply being who they are.”