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While thinking about the difficulties that Carrie Prejean is having with the Miss USA Pageant, I had a question:
Who watches this stuff?
My emotional relationship with beauty pageants is complex, but the truth is that I can’t usually be bothered to notice them. They bore me. (But then, I wouldn’t have given American Idol any more chance of success than Star Search, and look how that prediction turned out.)
In fact, the only time I pay attention to beauty pageants is when some incidental controversy puts them in the news. Off the top of my head, I can name exactly three beauty pageant contestants: Carrie Prejean, Sarah Palin, and Vanessa Williams.
I assume that beauty pageants aren’t for me, but what is the target demographic? I’m mainly interested in generalities of sex (i.e. “gender”), class, and politics.
In an effort to assure maximum response, I am now allowing anonymous comments.
UPDATE: Vanishing American has an outstanding post on Carrie Prejean.
8 comments:
That is the question. Why don't things like this with lots of hot chicks attract more male heterosexual interest?
I say this as a guy who was a devoted reader of Vogue. Why didn't more hetero guys want to look at great pictures of Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington? I could never figure it out.
- Thursday
One way to find out would be to look at the commercial sponsorship. Who advertises during pageants? What products are they selling?
Working class people, maybe? I never watched the thing until I started dating my blue-collar-raised ex-girlfriend. Her family watched that sort of thing with religiosity. It was not what I would have expected. Maybe it was an anomaly. But watching it with her was some of the most boring TV I watched at that house.
That's what I assume. OTOH, beauty contestants seem "highly capitalized": hair, makeup, clothes, diets, personal trainers, and, um, you know . . . I realize that "poor" and "low class" are not the same, but they are highly correlated. But then again, this may be the difference between the producers (i.e. contestants) of beauty pageants and the consumers (i.e. couch potatoes watching television).
While I don't have an answer to this particular question, I will use this opportunity to point out that I have frequently wanted to comment on your blog, but have never been able to do so until now because of your prior policy.
:)
Kirt: Welcome.
When I started the blog in late summer '06, my comment policy was influenced by what I observed on the culture and policy blogs I tended to read. And what I often observed was frequently a lot of ad hominen nastiness. There is no avoiding this completely, but by requiring commenters to "sign in at the door," so-to-speak, and put their own reputations as writers on the line, I hoped to encourage better behavior.
As it happened, I overestimated my future importance to the internet. It appears that I usually don't even rate hostility!
This is my third attempt to leave a second comment. I must be doing something wrong.
But then again, this may be the difference between the producers (i.e. contestants) of beauty pageants and the consumers (i.e. couch potatoes watching television).Anyway, I think that's it in a nutshell. I think that a lot of lifestyles of the rich and famous and infamous are most popular to people that don't have money. I think beauty pageants sort of fall into this category. A lot of people who don't have a whole lot going for them (superficially) wanting a peek at and a connection with those that have what they don't.
my comment policy was influenced by what I observed on the culture and policy blogs I tended to read. And what I often observed was frequently a lot of ad hominen nastiness.Well, I agree with you there. Vanishing American's got a post I like, called No Escaping Politics, about how acrimony is all but unavoidable on the internet. Like she says, it's wearying; in fact, it's one thing that made me realize I had to cut down on my internet time.
As it happened, I overestimated my future importance to the internet.:)
Reminds me of a saying: don't worry about what people think of you. They aren't.
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