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Yes

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I'm not going to focus on size, ethnicity, gender, or age. But yes, prejudice is a factor in who gets "booted" from American Idol. Americans are exposed to a standard of beauty that graces the cover of every magazine, with lighting, make up, stylists, and photoshop software to make every photograph amazing, and every model enviable.

When those contestants stand up on the American Idol stage, they are not simply judged for their vocal talents, but also how they look, whether the individual judges them consciously or not. That's why there are stylists and hair and make-up artists to help them look their very best.

If we look at the contestants who've won in the past, and the ones who've gone on to successful careers, versus the ones that did not, the one thing that remains the same is that all the faces we recognize as successful are notably attractive, as held up to the standard for beauty that graces print and video media in this country.

The talented ones that we may have liked - like "Chicken Little" for example, didn't meet the same standard as Carrie, Reuben, Kelly, Jennifer Hudson, Justin Guarini, and others. It's just human nature to gravitate towards beautiful people, and a voting talent contest will do the same.

Recall high school, if you will, when the beautiful kids ruled the school in popularity and usually in talent as well. They were the cheerleaders, the all-star athletes, the drama leads, the soloists. It's no different. The mentality may not be as defined, but remember too that many of the voting demographics for American Idol are still in high school.

I won't go so far as to say that the beautiful people are deliberately kept in the competition and the less pretty booted sooner, although from a marketing standpoint that does make some sense to keep the interest in the show. But I will say that prejudice doesn't have to be reminiscent of the days of Rosa Parks and the back of the bus to exist. It doesn't even have to be prevalent. In this case, I'm speaking of a pure case of social Darwinism, at a primarily subconscious level.

Even so, the contestants that make it onto the final stage have been varied in their cultural backgrounds and physical stereotypes as the show has grown, and I do see an attempt to present a wide variety of talents for the voters to choose from. This variety has allowed such previously unknown talent a chance to make their way in careers other than just singing, and has opened up more than just the pop genre for contestants. As for intentional prejudice in deciding the contestants, if it exists, the producers have done a good job of keeping it quiet.

Learn more about this author, Margo Crawford.
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