Episode 92: The History of Beauty Pageants: With Margot Mifflin

Just last year the Miss America pageant celebrated its 100th anniversary. What started as a ploy to encourage tourists to stay in Atlantic City Newjersy, turned into a multi-million dollar scholarship competition. But history is never that simple, in this episode, I speak with the author Margot Mifflin about her groundbreaking book Looking for Miss America.

We discuss the origins of the pageant, the dark side of all that glitz and glam, and what happened to the commentators after the title was bestowed on one seemingly lucky gal. Margot goes into fascinating detail about the pageant’s connection to eugenics, upholding white supremacy, and on the flip side breaking down barriers that women have faced for millennia.

Join us in this fascinating discussion as we try looking for Miss America.

You can click the link bellow to listen to the episode. 💛💙