Before Painted Babies, JonBenet, and Swan Brooner there was... Blaire Pancake

To outsiders it might seem like there are lots of links between the world of child beauty pageants and the world of adult beauty pageants (which do not exclusively include the Miss America, Miss Universe, and Miss World systems, but those are certainly the most prestigious and well-known). But that isn't quite right. Lots of child beauty girls say that they want to grow up to be Miss America or Miss Universe, but they often drop-out long before they are age eligible.  Or, they are seen as being "Pageant Patties" who are too programmed/robotic to succeed in the adult pageants that place more value on spontaneity and "natural"-ness, so those who stick with pageants over the years often aren't successful in their pursuit of the "big crowns." Outsiders also often wonder what becomes of child beauty pageant contestants as they age. Are they successful? Happy? Married? It's usually difficult to answer these questions as it's hard to track down contestants and keep track of them over the years.  One exception are the two girls featured in the 1996 documentary Painted Babies. This BBC-produced special focused on five-year-olds Asia Mansour and Brooke Breedwell as they squared off in a Georgia child beauty pageant-- long before the world ever heard of JonBenet Ramsey. The filmmaker, Jane Treays, visited the girls again, twelve years late, in Painted Babies at 17, which came out in 2008 and was shown on TLC (FYI- Asia was still doing pageants).

But even before Painted Babies, there was Blaire Pancake. Blaire was eleven-years-old when she and her family were featured in a nine-page spread in Life in 1994 (click here for a link to my own copy of the piece, which unfortunately does not reproduce the pictures well; to read the text of the article, click here). Even with shocking revelations for the time—like the fact that Blaire had competed in over 100 pageants, that she wore glue-on nails, and that she had been accused of wearing hair extensions and having plastic surgery performed by her father (a plastic surgeon)—there was little public outcry about this American subculture.

I have always found this Life piece, by sports journalist Pat Jordan, quite powerful. If you read it now, seventeen years later, you'll be struck by how little has changed in many ways in the world of child beauty pageants. There's clearly continuity in the tensions and practices (flippers, coaches, rumors and accusations, involved parents, etc.). And then there is the memorable Blaire Pancake. The images of her are striking, and the name, for me, has always been unforgettable.

Recently Bloomberg Businessweek ran a story on US beauty queens who have gone on to pursue MBAs.  They tracked down 14 state title holders from Miss America and Miss USA who had worn the crown in the past decade. The article highlights how the women's experiences as state beauty queens helped prepare them for the business world, highlighting networking and marketing skills.

Well, guess who number 12 was in the slideshow that accompanied the article? You guessed it-- Blaire Pancake. Pancake competed as Miss Tennessee in the 2007 Miss America Pageant.  While she didn't place in the Top 15, or win any special awards, she did compete at the Miss America Pageant, which is no easy feat.  True, she didn't fulfill her stated childhood dream of becoming Miss America (per the Life piece from 1994), but she got pretty close.

Pancake apparently stopped doing pageants in high school, and didn't compete in college.  But at 23, at risk of "aging out" of the Miss America system, she decided to try for the Miss Tennessee title. And she won on her first attempt. All those years of pageant prep had paid off.

I was really delighted to read about Blaire Pancake's success. She received her MBA in 2009 and is now working as a "marketing and business development director." A quick Google search revealed that she is married as well. While Blaire Pancake (thankfully) never become a household pageant name like JonBenet, she does show that even child beauty pageant contestants thrust into the national spotlight at a young age can go on to lead successful adult lives. So, there is hope for girls like Swan Brooner (from HBO's critically acclaimed 2001 Living Dolls [and my favorite child beauty pageant documentary]) and for the pint-sized princesses from today's Toddlers & Tiaras. Only time will tell if they can pull off a Blaire Pancake.

Whitey Bulger's Beauty Pageant Connection (from The Huffington Post Culture)

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ON THE HUFFINGTON POST CULTURE! He was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for twelve years. But Whitey Bulger was ultimately brought down by Miss Congeniality.

No, not Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock's eponymous female FBI character in the 2000 film), but Anna Bjornsdottir.

According to The Boston Globe, which broke the story, Bjornsdottir is a 57-year-old graphic designer and yoga instructor who splits her time between Reykjavik, Iceland and Santa Monica, California.  During her California months she stays near Bulger's former hideout-- where he lived for sixteen years with girlfriend Catherine Greig while on the run from authorities in Boston (If you aren't familiar with Bulger, he was a former boss of the Irish mob in Boston, accused of killing at least nineteen; he was also the inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character in 2006's The Departed). Ever congenial, Bjornsdottir and Greig bonded over the neighborhood stray cat... Though at the time Bjornsdottir knew Greig as Carol Gasko.

After seeing a story on Whitey Bulger and Greig back home in Iceland, Bjornsdottir made the connection between Gasko and Greig and called in a tip to the FBI. She has since, reportedly, collected $2 million for her good deed. And, now, she has also gained international attention.

But this isn't Anna Bjornsdottir's first time in the international spotlight. Back in 1974 she competed in the Miss Universe Pageant as Miss Iceland. While she didn't win-- or even place as a semi-finalist-- she was crowned Miss Congeniality.

If you're interested in her national costume (my favorite part of the Miss Universe Pageant, which I've written about before) start watching at about 3:04:

After her pageant experience Bjornsdottir moved to California to pursue modeling, apparently doing quite well in print and television commercials (according to a People story, she earned more than $2000 a day for appearing in Vidal Sassoon and Noxzema commercials).

This also isn't the first time that the 1974 Miss Universe Pageant has been touched by intrigue and scandal. The winner, Miss Spain Ampara Muñoz, resigned her title a few months after crowning, citing irreconcilable differences with the Miss Universe Pageant. By that time the first runner-up, Miss Wales Helen Morgan, had won the title of Miss World (as Miss United Kingdom). In a bizarre twist, she also gave up her crown after it was revealed that she was a single mother. The Miss Universe title wasn't offered to any other runners-up. The following year Miss Universe 1972 crowned Miss Universe 1975, since there was no reigning queen.

Muñoz passed away earlier this year, not knowing that eventually one of her fellow contestants' involvement with a scandal would overshadow her own. Miss Congeniality, indeed. Just ask Whitey.

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ON THE HUFFINGTON POST CULTURE!

Pulchronomics: Reviewing Beauty Pays (from orgtheory.net)

The economics of beauty? Well, that sort of economics definitely interests me more than stories about unemployment rates and tax cuts. (Yes, yes, I know they are important [though often depressing] topics.)  Since I’m married to an economist I feel I can say that sometimes economics can be a bit boring… In any case, it’s rare when our household experiences an overlapping academic interest, so I was particularly eager to read labor economist Daniel Hamermesh’s latest, Beauty Pays (Princeton University Press, 2011). The book has certainly been getting a lot of press.  (The fact it was featured in both The Economist and People, and that I read both features during my weekly reading, sums up my high- and low-brow periodical reading preferences.)  Beauty Pays has been reviewed and summarized in Time and The Huffington Post as well, and you may have seen the New York Times Op-Ed Hamermesh wrote last month on legal protections for the ugly.  Given these existing reviews I don’t want to summarize the major findings here, instead highlighting some points and questions that I believe will be of particular interest.

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• Given our chosen academic paths/careers, I was particularly interested when Hamermesh posed the question: Are better looking people better educated? (page 43). The answer is maybe. He finds that if you are smarter the premium for being beautiful is greater. But if you aren’t beautiful the penalty is greater as well.

What does this mean for professors? In examining teacher ratings Hamermesh finds that successful evaluations hinge on profs being more attractive.  More attractive economists also get elected to the presidency of the AEA more easily. Now this doesn’t mean the candidates have to look like Tom Brady. They just have to look better than the Manning brothers, since it’s relative attractiveness that really matters.

Not surprisingly, “On average, better-looking people will choose occupations where their looks pay off, and worse-looking people will shy away from those occupations.” (72)  Does this mean evaluating your own attractiveness in a realistic way should be added to The Grad Skool Rulz?

• While the book is full of many interesting findings, I did find myself wondering why certain topics weren’t discussed in more depth. For instance, while he discusses professions where looks would seem to matter quite a bit (like prostitution and acting), there was no serious mention of modeling (which seems particularly glaring given the recent publication of economic sociologist Ashley Mears’ Pricing Beauty).  I was similarly surprised to see beauty pageants ignored. The only mention of beauty pageants was a strange one—a reference to an online beauty contest for nuns.

One of the more interesting findings is that beauty matters just as much for men as for women, at least when it comes to labor market outcomes. I think the emphasis on presenting data for both men and women obscured opportunities for more thought-provoking analyses.  For instance, Hamermesh points out that more attractive women are more likely to be involved in the labor market than more unattractive women, who stay at home.  However, don’t many of the very best looking women opt out of the labor market by marrying extremely well? He does discuss the pay-off to women for marrying more attractive husbands (who also have more education, of course), but I would guess attractive women who marry well and leave the labor market are significantly more attractive than women who leverage their good looks for better-paying jobs.

• Finally, I would have liked to have seen Hamermesh discuss how good some of the studies he references really are. While his pulchronimics work has appeared in some of the top economics journals, many of the studies conducted by others that he discusses didn’t land in such lofty publications.  How much should we believe those studies? Just the findings are presented in the text; he could have used the notes to satisfy the curiosity of his more academic readers to evaluate the way the studies were conducted and point out some of the more and less compelling aspects of that research.

Additionally many of the data are dated, coming from the 1970s. In that case, would we expect there to have been an increase, or a decrease, in earnings due to looks since the 70s? I think we should expect an increase given the rise of celebrity culture and technological changes.  In addition to a 24/7 celebrity culture on television, there has also been the rise of the Internet. Even for non-celebrities that has led to a comeback of the portrait, focusing only on the face, for example (not just for Facebook, but for other forms of social media and websites). So beauty effects may be even larger today—a potentially sobering finding.

The study of beauty is more important than ever, especially given that higher rates of unemployment “gives employers more latitude to discriminate” (50). Hopefully other social scientists will take a cue from Daniel Hamermesh and continue studying beauty and appearance (not just facial beauty/physiognomy, but also height and weight) in a serious way to think about how beauty impacts the labor market, and beyond.

Miss Universe 2012: Pageant or Informerical? (from orgtheory.net)

Last night Miss Angola, 25-year-old Leila Lopes, was crowned the 60^th Miss Universe—the first ever winner from Angola.  She beat out 89 other hopefuls in Sao Paulo, Brazil to take the crown.  The hosts declared this to be the “most coveted title in the world,” a statement I’m sure many would disagree with, even if some of the prizes seem nice. While Miss Universe is the most-watched beauty pageant worldwide, at times it seemed like nothing more than an extended infomercial.  Between long features on the host city/country and massive product placement for sponsors (like OPI and Chi) there was very little actual pageant to watch.  Sure, we saw the women strut in their bikinis (where the commentators did mention several times that all the contestants were wearing the same Catalina suits and Chinese Laundry nude heels) and glide across the stage in their evening gowns. And of course we were treated to the Top 5 answering a final question live (always interesting in the Miss Universe Pageant with translators—this time those who spoke Ukrainian, Chinese [not sure whether Cantonese or Mandarin], and Portuguese).  But viewers also had to endure many endless dramatic pauses that would put Ryan Seacrest to shame during the announcements of finalists and winners.

While beauty pageants are rarely just about “beauty,” this year’s Miss Universe Pageant highlighted the business-side of beauty pageants.  It’s basically the only televised competition I know where the judges’ results are not completely honored. As was said during the broadcast at the announcement of the Top 16, “members of the Miss Universe Organization” also help select the finalists. Donald Trump, who bought the pageant in 1996, wants to make sure he and his people like the winner… But imagine if Mark Burnett openly had a hand in selecting the winner of Survivor.  Sure, television producers can manipulate shows through editing and selection of challenges for contestants, but they can’t actually cast a vote or change the rules to protect their favorites.

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Then again, if you know anything about the history of the Miss Universe Pageant, this might not surprise you. Miss USA/Universe has always been the tawdrier, sexier, and more commercial cousin to Miss America. In 1951 when the newly-crowned Miss America Yolande Betbeze refused to be crowned in her swimsuit (the Miss America Pageant actually started out as a bathing beauty contest in 1921 and didn’t fully move toward “respectability” until after WWII), Catalina, pulled their sponsorship and started the Miss USA/Universe pageant system.  So from its inception, the Miss Universe Organization has been focused on business and bathing suits.  That it’s most popular says a lot about what our society values.

Although this year’s pageant should have had a different result, if pageant rumors were to be believed.  It had been suggested for months on pageant discussion boards that Miss China would take the crown. Not only is she a beautiful women and model, but Trump had allegedly hand-picked her, wanting to pursue more business interests in China. Could Miss China’s placement as the fourth-runner-up tell us something about The Donald’s next business venture? Unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

As a loyal pageant watcher, Miss Angola was certainly a worthy competitor and she is a beautiful winner—even if Trump doesn’t start building high-rises in Luanda.  But I’m still disappointed that the 89 contestants didn’t wear their “national costumes” during the parade of nations.  Here’s winner Miss Angola in hers:

But think how much more fun the night would have been if you had seen costume winner Miss Panama appear live in this!

My tacky national costume award goes to Miss Chile:

Who is your favorite?

In a Sea of New England Brunettes, a Blonde Miss Massachusetts

This past Saturday evening I had the pleasure of attending the Miss Massachusetts Pageant, held in Worcester, MA. Molly Whalen, Miss Taunton, took the title-- the only blonde title holder from New England competing for Miss America 2012.  Misses Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island were in attendance, actually sitting in the row in front of me.  The odds favored brunettes this year (most of the Top 8 were brunettes), but blonde ambition prevailed and Whalen won a preliminary swimsuit award, and ultimately the crown.

After writing about the past 25 years of the Miss Massachusetts Pageant in The Boston Globe Magazine a few weeks ago, I was especially interested in this year's results. Not surprisingly, based on my analysis, Miss Massachusetts 2011 was a vocalist who majored in the sciences (at 20 she already has a Bachelor's from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and is starting a Master of Science degree in Applied Nutrition at Northeastern University this fall). She also was a repeat contestant, competing in 2008 at age 17. Slightly more surprising is that this is only Miss Taunton's third win (the first was Miss Massachusetts 1972, the second 2002) and no previous winner has ever listed Taunton as her hometown.  Whalen actually resides in Middleboro, which has also never before had a Miss Massachusetts winner!  We'll have to wait until January 2012 to see if Whalen-- or her New England sister queens-- can finally bring the Miss America crown back to the region (the last was Miss Connecticut 1933, Marian Bergeron).

While I enjoyed the show as an audience member, I couldn't completely take off my researcher/sociologist cap.  Given that the other major stream of my research is about competition, I was thinking a lot about the fact that some of Miss Massachusetts' competitors were there watching the competition. Were they sizing up their competition? Getting ideas for their own dresses and routines? Or were they genuinely excited to meet someone else going on this strange journey with them. I'm guessing it's a combination of emotions-- and I suppose it's no different than sports teams studying game tapes really. The other perhaps more troubling competitive conflict of interest, at least to me, is using pageant directors from other states as judges.  Twenty-five years ago, in 1986, the executive directors of the Miss New York and the Miss Idaho Pageants helped select winner Kathleen Marie Callahan (who also attended the Pageant!); this year the executive directors from Miss Delaware and Miss Indiana judged.  Now I can see why it is useful to have "pageant insiders" as judges-- they know the type of young woman who is most likely to succeed in the position. Yet, they also have a horse in the Miss America race, so to speak. Even though I am sure a part of them wants the best Miss America possible, they also want "their girl" to be successful. I wonder how different state winners would look if only former state executive directors worked as judges? Granted they are only two of five member judging panels, but I still think the results would likely vary in significant ways. Given that the Miss America Pageant now only uses "celebrity" judges for preliminaries and the finals, perhaps state pageants should move in this direction as well.

A few other thoughts from this Pageant watching experience:

• Five talented young dancers were the "Miss Massachusetts dancers" (Erin Lynch, Nick Silverio, Jessica Lynch, Danielle Turcotte, and Jacqueline Wall). They danced routines like they were trying out for So You Think You Can Dance. Three of the Top 8 contestants were also dancers. While the three finalists did an admirable job, they were not at the level of the five featured dancers. The Miss America Pageant used to have female vocalists and dancers as part of the television production, but dropped this to put the spotlight squarely on the contestants (they still have male dancers sometimes). I wonder if this is part of the reason vocalists seem to have a huge statistical advantage at Miss Massachusetts?
• It was fun to watch the contestants compete in swimsuit, talent, and evening wear. I just wish the audience would have gotten a taste of their personalities with an on-stage question. The judges get an extended interview with the contestants, behind closed doors, two days before the final competition-- and it's often said that all these pageants are actually won in the interview room (if the judges really like someone, they may overlook a shaky talent routine, or give them higher scores throughout all phases of the competition since they already have a favorite).
• We not only got to see the contestants and dancers perform, but also the outgoing Miss MA, her sisters, and the reigning Miss Massachusetts Outstanding Teen, Sydney Rachael Levin-Epstein. Levin-Epstein's talent was Irish Dancing. As a Levey who went to Catholic school for twelve years and has Irish blood, I must admit I still did a double take!
• Lest one forget that this was a competition and that the contestants invest a great deal of emotional, psychological, financial, and physical energy into the event, I saw two contestants (who had placed highly) in tears at the celebration following the pageant. While I can appreciate their disappointment, I have never seen adult pageant contestants cry at "visitation" after the competition.  Granted, I've seen many a tear shed at crowning at child beauty pageants (and you have too if you've seen Toddlers &Tiaras!), but, again, never at an adult pageant. I'm sure many tears have been shed, but behind closed doors. The tears were sad to see, but a reality when not everyone walks away with a crown and a title.

In any event, it will be fun for me to follow Miss Massachusetts through the Miss America process, after seeing her crowned. Wish I could fly to Vegas this year, but the Pageant is only a few weeks after my due date, so not in the cards!  I think this year's crop of contestants is shaping up to be interesting.  The state winner with the most press thus far is definitely Bree Boyce, Miss South Carolina. Tomorrow morning she'll be on both Good Morning America and The Today Show talking about her 110 pound weight loss. Last week's story on her win really took off, especially on The Huffington Post. Last year's Miss Delaware got a lot of early national press exposure talking about her alopecia-- but Kayla Martell didn't bring home the crown. We'll see what happens with Boyce.  There's also Miss Colorado, Diana Dreman, daughter of a former Miss America, who I recently wrote about.  Finally, another story I find intriguing is Miss Nevada, whose father is a state senator. Love the first paragraph of this article about Alana Lee.  Do you have an early favorite for Miss America 2012?

PS. What do you think of my new blog/website?