30 Shocking Beauty Pageant Rules

1. No Babies Allowed!

imagesource/graziadailyCertain beauty pageants don't allow women who have been pregnant, had an abortion or who plan of getting pregnant soon from entering the competition. In more recent years, rules have changed the banning "only women who have given birth". LOL.

2. You Definitely Shouldn't Put A Ring On It

imagesource/WIONBeauty competitions take the word "Miss" quite literally. Like very seriously and these competitions forbid their contestants from being married. Miss America now disallows divorcées to compete too, so really, these women just can't win can they!

3. You're Not Allowed To Look Too Childlike

imagesource/insidereditionJudges will punish contestants for looking too childlike in kids beauty pageants. Baby teeth are a taboo on the pageant stage, and not wearing your "flippers" - special teeth which cover child like smiles - will earn you a few demerits.

4. Pageant Parents Are A Real Thing

imagesource/dailymailIt's not unheard of for pageant parents to fuel their kids with caffeine through those long rehearsals and competitions. June Thompson from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo served her daughter Red Bull with Mountain Dew during the pageant circuit.

5. You Can't Be Over The Hill To Make It In The Beauty Pageant World

imagesource/lancerlinesThink you're too old to start your beauty pageant career? Then you probably are! The age limit for Miss American Pageant is 24, but you have an extra two years the enter the Miss USA competition, where you can be 26 to enter.

6. The French Say 'Non'

imagesource/NBCnewsFrance put a ban on child beauty pageants in 2013 - children under the age of 13 can no longer compete. It was believed that these pageants would "sexualise" young girls, with their fake lashes, fake teeth and spray tans, it was all a bit too much.

7. Looking 'Right' Is Taught In Some Schools

imagesource/panoramaIn Venezuela, "Miss Factories" are for wannabe beauty queens and kids go even before they hit puberty. Some students learn how to drastically change their appearance, everything from hormone treatments to installing meshes on their tongues to minimize food intake.

8. Ifs And Butts

imagesource/newyorkpostA lot of contestants used "butt glue" which keeps those skimpy tops and bikini bottoms in the right place. So next to you see a beauty queen walk down that catwalk, they're most likely covered in butt glued! It may look good, but some of the pageant contestants can end up with serious skin rashes from using it so much.

9. The Crazy Weight Slimming Regimes

imagesource/todayHemorroid cream and plastic wrap are not un heard of ingredients in beauty queen's slimming regimes. A former Miss USA explained how she would “lather on hemorrhoid ointment, wrap myself up with Saran wrap, and run on a treadmill with an incline for 30 minutes. It’s not permanent, but it tightens you up.”

10. The Surprising Source Behind Beauty Pageants...

imagesource/CBSnewsDesperate to keep people around for Labor Day, the Atlantic City Boardwalk started the Miss America pageant. Young, pretty girls parading around for all the stare at, what better way to make people stay around. Might be a bit weird by today's standards though - I don't think it'd be allowed now...

11. Bikinis Have Been A Bone Of Contention For A While

imagesource/thenewyorktimesBikinis have also been a controversial topic (god knows why) for beauty pageants, and it dates back all the way to the very start of competitions. Some events have banned them, while others go for a softer, more liberal approach making them optional.

12. What To Say & What Not To Say

imagesource/NPRAs if pageants aren't expensive enough, 72% of Miss America hopefuls hire a professional coach just to make sure that special lady knows what to say and what not to say on stage. What to wear and what not to wear and how to generally act. Those little details really matter apparently...

13. Beauty Pageants & Mental Illness

imagesource/mediumWith great looks can often come great expectations and with great expectations...well, it can lead to people developing mental illness. 6% of Miss American competitors identify as having a mental illness, and its estimated that the number is actually much higher.

14. Clapping Would Determine A Beauty Queen

imagesource/FLAREIn the first Miss America beauty pageant, the loudness of audience claps determined around 60 percent of a beauty queen's vote. So the louder the audience was the more likely the beauty contestant was to become a queen.

15. How Young Is Too Young?

imagesource/mediumSo we already know about the schools in Venezuela who push the kids to change their looks and enter pageants, but how young is too young? Well, kids between 6 to 16 account for 3 million beauty pageant contestants every year - that is a lot of tiny tiaras!

16. You've Got To Spend Money To Make Money

imagesource/pintrestWho's watched Toddlers and Tiaras? Well, McKenzie Myers notoriously spent $4,000 on a dress and that was nothing out of the ordinary! Many kids beauty pageant dresses cost thousands, some parents get themselves into so much debt, just to get their kids on the catwalk.

17. NASA Pressured Female Staff To Participate In Pageants

imagesource/redditIt sounds funny when you think about NASA holding beauty pageants but not many people actually know that the women at NASA were actually pressured into entering the competitions with names like "Miss NASA", "Miss Guided Missile" and "Lunar Landing Festival".

18. Miss NASA

imagesource/artifactingIn protest of "Miss NASA", a group of feminists soaked the ballots one year with joke slips where workers could vote one of 45 male NASA employees for "Boy of the Court". The ballots contained cartoons of the winners and were shared amongst workers pushing NASA to cancel Miss NASA.

19. The History of Miss America & Racism

imagesource/NBCUnfortunately, Miss America is is rooted in racism and for almost 30 years, non-white women were not allowed to compete due to a rule that said, “contestants must be of good health and of the white race.” This changed in the 50s but even then, the first black contestant didn't run until 1971.

20. Miss America's Death Threats

imagesource/varietyThe first black woman to win Miss American in 1984, was the beautiful, Vanessa Williams, who received flowers, a crown and death threats...This was the first time in history that any winner received hate mail, let alone actual death threats. Not only did she have to put up with this, but she was made to reseign when a nude photo of her was released to the public.

21. Pageants Are A Big Business For All Stakeholders - Except Participants

imagesource/thetelegraphParticipants often spend a small fortune - more than they could potentially win, just to participate in these competitions. From participation fees to expenses incurred for hairstyling, makeup, outfits and personal trainers, these girls spend tonnes to get on that catwalk and often walk home with nothing.

22. Unhealthy & Idealistic Notions Of Beauty & Physicality Have Always Been The Centre Of Pageants

imagesource/dazedThe idealistic conventions of a woman have been challenged over the years. If women did not fit a particular image of being 'good looking', cis, heterosexual or able-bodied, they would not be entered into these pageants. Miss Nevada who will be participating in Miss America was made to live alone in a room and undergo health checks to make sure she was a woman.

23. Public Uproar In 2021

imagesource/theguardianHarassment and discrimination is still very prevalent in this competitions and for women like Miss Nevada, her decision to carry on competing to represent people who 'look like her' is amazing. "I had that purpose, and I had that dream. I wanted to achieve it and, for me, the purpose of representing people and representing not just myself but something that is not always represented in our communities and in this time, especially in media," she said.

24. Contestants Had To Be Measured Up Against Cardboard Cut-Outs

imagesource/BBCIn 1935, beauty contestants in Texas were made to pose inside a wooden cut-out of the 'ideal female body' to see how they measured up. Women who fit inside the outline perfectly were allowed to continue onto the next round...talk about the perfect way to cause eating disorders.

25. Size Standards Have Actually Got Smaller

imagesource/usweeklyIn 1930, the Body Mass Index of a beauty pageant contestant was 20.8, however, in 2010, the average was 16.9. According to the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, the a BMI under 18.1 is considered unhealthy and underweight.

26. Contestants Used To Have To Trace Their Lineage To Prove They Were White

imagesource/cosmopolitanIts hard to imagine that less that 50 years ago, this sort of thing was going on, but it was! Miss America contestants were required to trace their lineage back seven generations to prove that they were 100 percent white. This led to people of color to form their own pageants.

27. Crowns Can Be Taken Away From Queens If They Don't Fit Into The Perfect Femenine Ideals.

imagesource/thesunZara Holland, former Miss United Kingdom lost her title back in 2016 when she had sex on the reality TV show, Love Island. Miss Great Britain made th decision because Holland, "as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title.”

28. Finalists Of The Miss India Contests Have Been Heavily Criticised

imagesource/RTThe Miss India contest was heavily criticised in 2019 because of how similar the women looked - fair skin, long, black hair - in a country where fair skin is still coveted, despite the cultures and diversity in the communities in India. Each finalist from every year have always looked similar.

29. Always Have Thankyou Cards

imagesource/angelopedia"Thankyou so much....I really appreciate you..." Things will happen during pageant week that competitors will want to thank people for. But this really is a great move to brown nose the judges and everyone around them. Not only are thankyou cards sort of expected, but so are gifts. So not only do these girls have to pay out to look good, but they're also buying people gifts too.

30. It Takes A Lot Of Money To Be A Beauty Queen

imagesource/timesofindiaBeing beautiful is a bit of an investment - the average US beauty pageant evening dress costs anywhere from around $1,000-$5,000. Then you need to factor in hair and makeup, fees for headshots, transport, trainers and entrance fees. You can't be poor to get in this business.

31. The 'weight standard' actually used to be bigger

image source: reddit.com

One thing you can say about beauty competitions is that there's definitely a focus on 'skinnier is better' in terms of their judging criteria (which we know isn't the case). The surprising thing is, though, that what they considered 'skinny' in terms of the weight rules for the competition actually used to be a lot more than it is in more modern day competitions. Back in the 1930s, the 'standard' BMI for people competing was what would actually be considered a healthy normal weight. Since, the average BMI rules would now be classed as underweight.

32. Early 'swimsuit competitions' could be considered beauty pageants

image source: reddit.com

Before we had the official title of 'beauty pageant' and the titles of Miss World or Miss (Enter Country Here), there used to be competitions focused solely on swimsuit modelling - and these swimsuit competitions actually started as early as the 1800s! Where they would take place on pictures and have women stand in a row to judge their bodies in swimwear. To say that was the Victorian times, when we associate them with heavy clothing that most certainly covers up the skin, this is quite surprising to know they did this.

33. The beauty competition on the subway

image source: factinate.com

Another strange event in the world of beauty pageants was also the 'Miss Subway' competition. We've no idea why this was thought to be a good idea - because who cares about a beauty competition when you're trying to battle the morning rush to commute to a hectic job? - but it went on for a good few years! When the winners of the competition were chosen, they would then have their photos - complete with crowns - displayed on subway advertising boards, but this soon developed to actually having commuters being able to see the photos and vote on who they thought was the most beautiful.

34. The "Most Beautiful Ape" competition

image source: vintageveryday.com

Another strange and ridiculous event in the history of these shocking pageants was also the 'ape' pageant - where you could say 'oh it's good they're not judging a woman on her face for a change' when actually it was just saying we don't care about your face, let's judge you on your body instead! Back in 1972, there was the "Miss Beautiful Ape" competition where women would have to don full ape masks in order to be judged whilst wearing a swimsuit (because when don't apes wear swimsuits). The contest was actually all a way to promote the movie Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.

35. There's even been a Marilyn Monroe lookalike competition

image source: youtube.com

If you're going to have a beauty competition based on a celebrity standard, then of course that beauty standard is going to be the blonde-haired, white-dressed Marilyn Monroe. Beauty pageants have gone so far as to even have a beauty and lookalike contest with every contestant dressed as the Hollywood legend. This contest was actually very popular - both with contestants and viewers - when it took off in the 50s. It even went so far as to even have life-sized cut outs of Marilyn's exact proportions so that contestants could see how perfectly they matched up!

36. Competitors are more likely to be friends than enemies

image source: reddit.com

The beauty pageant world, with all its shallowness, toxicity and very shocking rules, would have you believe that most competitors would probably very much hate each other, maybe get a little "catty" behind the scenes, and do anything they could to walk over other girls and take that crown. In actually fact, the female contestants are extremely supportive of each other, and it's much more likely they'd make friends along the way rather than enemies. That doesn't mean they all want the crown, but there are not many sore losers here.

37. Some Miss Americas change their mind!

image source: newyorkpost.com

You'd think that with all the rigmarole they have to go through, all that money spent, all that pressure put on themselves to be beautiful and then to work so hard to take the crown, that it would be something they'd be so proud of for the rest of their lives - and do again in a heartbeat. Actually, it's not always the case, as some winners don't react well to the crown after it's on their head! One example is Bette Cooper, who was Miss America in 1937. She gave up her crown only a day after a winning because she wanted to go back to college.

38. But the title can open other career doors for you

image source: insider.com

While it's true that you might think the main choice, like the one Bette made, is to either win the crown and do your beauty pageant duties OR choose an education for a different kind of career path, it's not always the case - you can have both! Cloris Leachman won the crown of Miss America back in the 40s, and she then used her winning title to help get her into New York City to start an acting career off the back of her Miss America scholarship. She then went on to have a hugely successful career in showbusiness!

39. There has only been one Jewish woman to ever win

image source: thenewyorktimes.com

How's that for religious diversity? Bess Myerson has been the only Jewish woman to ever win the Miss America beauty pageant. Not only did she win, but she won in the year 1945, during one of the most significant times in history. She was crowned Miss America the year the Second World War had ended, and many people were encouraged by her win, seeing it as a symbol against everything that had happened in the war, and the horrors committed towards Jewish people. Many believed her win also inspiration for showing a Jewish person's place in American life.

40. The history of the 'May Queen'

image source: reddit.com

Actually, beauty pageants go back longer than you think - and we don't just mean those Victorian beach swimsuit competitions either. What you may not think of as a sort of beauty pageant - the May Day festival - actually is. This is an English tradition that goes way back, in which there's a 'May Queen' crowned, under the premise that she's young and beautiful, and symbolizes the success of a bountiful harvest in the village of the May Festival. All these modern beauty pageants we've seen since are built on these traditions.

41. Here are the most controversial moments in pageant history! When one Miss America was divorced during her reign

image source: elle.com

We know the pageant's strict rules on its contestants being married, divorced, pregnant and everything in between. Well these rules only came into full force after one particular Miss America queen - the woman who won, not even just a contestant - was found to be both married and then divorced during her reign as Miss America. Back then - 1949 - this was seen as a huge scandal, and because of the winner, Jacque Mercer, contestants had to sign a 'pledge' to say that they would very much remain available on the market if they competed.

42. When one Miss America refused to pose in a swimsuit

image source: elle.com

Yolande Betbeze Fox was the crowned winner of Miss America back in 1951, and your beauty duties don't stop after you've won, of course. There were still many things she was expected to do, including things she'd 'signed' to accept to do if she won - and one of those things she was expected to do was pose in a swimsuit. She had been expected to model a particular brand of swimswear as Miss America, but she refused - and the controversy then saw her go on to open up a rival beauty pageant in response, Miss USA!

43. When Miss Universe gave up her crown for the man she loved!

image source: elle.com

Armi Kuusela from Finland was not only the winner of Miss Universe back in the 1950s, but she was actually the very first ever winner. As part of her contract after winning, she was to tour the world with her crown - which she did... but then ending up meeting the man of her dreams during her travels, a Filipino man named Virgilio Hilario. The problem was that Miss Universe was supposed to remain a completely available bachelorette and couldn't get married. Her solution? She gave up her crown to marry him and live a happy life.

44. When Miss Maryland lied about having children

image source: elle.com

Mary Leona Gage was Miss Maryland who won the crown of Miss America - the very first woman from Maryland to do so - back in 1957. All good so far! The problem was that it later came out, after she'd won, she was actually married with two children. The rule about not being married/having kids had come into full swing by now, so this was obviously a huge rule-breaker. But it got more messy when Mary claimed she'd been told to lie by pageant officials in order to still enter the competition - but they denied saying anything.

45. The very first pageant protest in history

image source: elle.com

We know there are more and more protests about the pageant industry every day, that it's all normality now, but back in the day, there was a time when no protests had happened yet... up until the very first one back in 1969. The protest was against the Miss America pageant, outside the venue in Atlantic City on the day the pageant was to take place. Around 400 people turned up to protest, and used a "freedom trash can" to help them in their demonstration, which showed them showing overly-feminine things into it, like sanitary pads, makeup and cleaning products!

46. When 20 year old Miss Universe was bullied by Donald Trump

image source: elle.com

Alicia Machado was crowned Miss Universe back in 1996 when she was only 19 years old, and a year later, following her win and her duties to do the rounds with her new title, she crossed paths with Donald Trump. Trump is actually the previous owner of the Miss Universe organization. She claimed that he called her "Miss Piggy" because she'd gained weight during the year since winning the title, and also belittled her by calling her "Miss Housekeeping" because of her accent. Basically any demeaning word you can put after 'Miss'!

47. The confusion over Miss Russia

image source: elle.com

Oxana Fedorova was crowned Miss Universe as the first Miss Russia to ever win the contest, taking the crown back in 2002. But when she began her official reign was Miss Universe, she actually ended up losing the crown only four months after she'd won it. The confusion came from the fact that nobody really knew why, or what happened - she herself claimed she gave the crown back off her own steam, because she wanted to focus on studying for a law degree, but not everyone bought that story. And some thought it could have been because she was actually pregnant. Needless to say, everyone was confused!

48. One Miss USA's drinking and drugs scandal

image source: elle.com

The scandals always seem to come out after the crown has been taken, don't they! When Tara Conner took the crown for Miss USA, everything appeared to be in order, and the model was enjoying her win. But then she became embroiled in her very own scandal when news of certain behaviors in her personal life came out, one shock after the next... first she'd apparently been drinking alcohol whilst still underage, then it got worse with her apparently using cocaine, crystal meth and heroin - testing positive for all three!

49. When Miss Teen South Carolina gave the most confusing answer to a question

image source: elle.com

We've got to hand it to these girls, some of those questions can catch you off guard, and when there's already so much pressure on you to be perfect, you're bound to slip up once or twice. But saying that's what Miss Teen South Carolina Caitlin Upton did would be an understatement. When asked why a portion of Americans couldn't find the USA on a map, her response was a whole load of "ums" and "uhs", paired with the fact that some people don't have maps, and that the USA should help Iraq and Asian countries. The most surprising part? She still came third.

50. When Miss Louisiana Teen USA dined and dashed - and got arrested

image source: elle.com

Pictured here on the right, Miss Louisiana Teen USA who won the crown in 2008 wasn't acting so much like a queen after she'd taken the title. After winning, and while she still held the crown, she actually dined and dashed from a restaurant to get out of paying the bill. She ended up messing it up completely when she had to go back for the purse she'd left behind... which was also filled with m*rijuana! She was swifty arrested following the purse discovery, and her attempted fleeing, and understandably had her crown taken from her!