by Elizabeth G

Created on: February 11, 2007

Last night I dreamt that I was in a beauty pageant. The rush of it was exciting and the dream was a good one overall. As I reflected back on this dream, I realized that my days of being eligible for any sort of "pageant" are over. The Miss America Pageant has a cut-off age of 24. And that's considered "old" in pageant terms.

I realize that pageants were created nearly a century ago, when a woman was considered to be in her prime of beauty in her late teens and early 20's. Before marriage and having children. Nowadays, women are admired for their beauty and worth well into their 30's- yet the pageant world hasn't caught up with the times. The Miss America pageant has evolved quite a bit over the years to focus less on external beauty and more on the woman's overall appeal: personality, intelligence, talent, commitment to serving the community, etc. I applaud them for that.

But why not create a pageant for women in their late 20's and mid 30's? Or women that are married? Like a "Mrs. America"? Married women are still beautiful- both inside and out. And there is no reason why they can't get up on stage in a fancy dress and answer some questions about saving the world from hunger or violence.

I'm envisioning all sorts of alternative pageants. Pageants that reflect the values of the 21st century we live in.

The "Women at Work" Pageant
First would be the career woman's pageant: "Women at Work". Instead of the winner getting scholarship money, she would receive a grant that she could apply to her business and the budget that falls under her direct management. Instead of an evening gown competition, there would be a business suit competition and instead of a talent competition, the woman would make some sort of presentation about her career. In Power Point, of course- and animated slide transitions. The women in this pageant would have to be single, living alone and fully self-supporting.

The "Mrs. Mother" Pageant
Contestants in this pageant would be mothers. The only qualification is that they must have at least one child, age 6 or above (explanation to follow). There would still be a swim suit competition (because hey- moms take their kids to the pool!) and an evening gown competition (because moms can still go out on the town!). But instead of talent, the child would be interviewed about the mother. This is why the child needs to be at least 6! Sample questions might be "What do you like best about your mother" and "How do you know that your mother loves you?" The winner

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