Many people consider opera outdated – a relic of the past which served its purpose and now is beginning to fade into history due to its lack of modern relevance. Many people consider pageants outdated – a feminist’s nightmare held together by hairspray and rhinestones, a spectacle holding the country’s attention only during the brief swimsuit competition.
Before I had seen my first opera I bought into the stereotypes associated with it: women in horny hats wearing chest plates, “singing” that sounds more like screaming than music, and convoluted plots obscured by foreign languages. Before I competed in my first pageant one year ago (see my previous post The Day I Became a Pageant Girl for more about this) I assumed that pageantland was filled with blonde bimbos desperate for a rhinestone crown and a TV contract.
One year ago, I decided on a whim to compete for the title of Miss Washtenaw County. I did not know a thing about pageants – I had never even watched Miss America on Tv – but the promise of scholarship money was alluring and I figured that at worst I would end up with a good story about “that one time in pageantland”. Now, almost exactly one year later, I am less than 24 hours away from giving up the title which changed not only how I see pageantry, but its place and relevance in today’s modern world.
When I say that becoming Miss Washtenaw County and my resulting association with the Miss America Organization (MAO) changed my life, I do not simply mean that I’ve made amazing memories that I will cherish forever. I mean that I do not recognize the girl I was a year ago, and that these changes are not fleeting but are so profound that they will stay with me my entire life.
The production of pageantry, like most other theatrical events, is at its core spectacle. Yet, once you see past the swimsuits, the rhinestones and 4” heels, its easy to see that there is so much more to it. Then you can see that with the crown comes a microphone that helps you reach more people than you ever thought possible. The crown gave me unprecedented access to schools and volunteer organizations across Washtenaw County. Without it, I would never been able to talk to over 1,500 kids about STEM in the past year – because as Alexandria no one wanted to listen, but as Miss Washtenaw, I had all-school assemblies called for me because they believed that if MAO thought I had something to say, I might be worth listening to.
There are plenty of people in the world who don’t get opera and, frankly, never will. There are plenty of people who feel the same way about pageantry, but I have seen first hand the positive change that involvement in the Miss America Organization has had on me. So just as with opera, pageants will stay a part of my life because in the past year they have proven their relevance.
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