International beauty pageants and the construction of hegemonic images of female beauty

H I G C Kumara,R A W D Jayawardhana

doi:10.4038/sljss.v41i2.7699

Abstract

Binaries like ‘beauty/ugliness’ or ‘fair/dark’ are ideological images driving the world market for beauty products. How are these images created? How far is the process of construction of these images influenced by socio-political and economic hegemonies? This paper addresses these research questions by deploying a qualitative dominant ‘Mixed Research Methodology’ and ‘Inductive Research Approach’. The paper is based on secondary data on titleholders of a major beauty pageant held during the 50 year period from 1967 to 2017. The data was analyzed using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) method. The research discovered that 68% of titleholders are from peripheral/semi-peripheral countries such as India and Venezuela. Further, the researchers found that the physical features of these non-European titleholders from the peripheral states closely resemble western Caucasian ‘white’ woman, conforming to ideal standards of western feminine beauty. On the other hand, ironically, 95% of branded beauty products are manufactured and distributed by multinational companies with headquarters in developed countries. Accordingly, the research concludes that the women chosen as the world’s most beautiful females display core characteristics of ‘stereotypical western feminine beauty standards’ and thereby, resemble a ‘fantasy model of feminine beauty’ conceptualized by a regime of ‘white men’, projecting its economic and political influence on the world stage. The fact that most titleholders are chosen from peripheral/semi-peripheral countries may be driven by a capitalist commercial project in which economies in the world dominant core countries have created a lucrative market for their beauty products in peripheral countries. Thus, this paper argues that the ideology and practice of international beauty pageants are shaped by the twin processes of global capitalism and world cultural-political hegemony.

Highlights

INTRODUCTION‘Knowledge’ and ‘Ideologies’ are socially constructed (Deutscher, 2014; Dubuisson, 2003; Syrotinski, 2007), in keeping with the social, political and economic interests of the ruling elites (Stoddart, 2007; Elden, 2016)
Binaries like ‘beauty/ugliness’ or ‘fair/dark’ are ideological images driving the world market for beauty products
The theoretical framework of this study is based on the argument that ‘models of feminine beauty’ or ‘perfect female body image’ have been appropriated into a global agenda in which these constructed images and related ideologies create a site for capitalist market forces and related global power structures

Summary

INTRODUCTION

‘Knowledge’ and ‘Ideologies’ are socially constructed (Deutscher, 2014; Dubuisson, 2003; Syrotinski, 2007), in keeping with the social, political and economic interests of the ruling elites (Stoddart, 2007; Elden, 2016). With the rise of these capitalist economies and globalization many aspects, including female beauty ideals of western culture, have been elated by the rest of the world, the discourse of hegemonic power and core-peripheral dependency provides insight to understand non-European women’s quest for Eurocentric female beauty ideals as standards. Dependency, postcolonial and postmodern theories have mostly explained the nature of cultural, political and economic hegemonies which lead to unequal global social and economic processes based on political and economic hegemonic power of capitalist countries (Fewel, 1981; Desai & Potter, 2014). Historical global domination by Europeans and the USA since 1945, has had an influence on contemporary political, socio-economic, and psychological aspects of southern peripheral countries (Hall & Tucker, 2004; Ziai, 2011) This form of ‘ideological hegemony’ has assisted in maintaining southern peripheral countries as a depending periphery in socio-cultural terms (Dirlik, 1994). Information about titleholders over a 50 year period, the countries they represent, the relationship between geo-spatial factors and selection of titleholders and hidden socio-cultural, political and economic hegemonies behind international beauty pageants were considered, paying special attention to above mentioned discourses and theories

METHODOLOGY

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION