You Gotta Have a Gimmick: Miss America 2015

Last night Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev was crowned Miss America 2015, making history in particular for being part of a never-before three-peat for a state at Miss America. The reigning Miss America and past two Miss Americas all represented New York (though all grew up in states other than NY, they went there for college). She is also making quite a splash due to her talent.

Now some are saying she has no talent and only played a cup. While I find it ridiculous that a Miss America sat cross-legged on the stage in Boardwalk Hall BAREFOOT, in her defense she did sing. And for the record, she can carry a tune much better than many of the other contestants (I'm looking at you, Miss Tennessee). Also, no joke, my mother, who is Miss America 1970, picked her after her talent saying her voice is "pleasant." Likeable has become the new buzz word for Miss America. I'm guessing my mom, like other pageant lovers, hasn't seen Pitch Perfect, so the truth is that this act was semi-pop culture current and besides the barefoot element (Again, what and why?!) is recreated down to the criss-cross applesauce posture.

Nonetheless, after a pageant season filled with scandal, gaffes, and drama, this is certainly NOT what the Miss America program needed.

Also, this year's Miss America Pageant proves, more than anything, the old Showbiz adage (from the legendary Gypsy) that you gotta get a gimmick...

Indeed, those with "gimmicks," or stories, this year got attention and airtime on prime time network TV.

* Miss Idaho was People's Choice after making headlines for her "Show me your pump" statement

* Miss Kentucky's story of overcoming MS earned her headlines and a spot in the Top 12 (and a prelim talent win)

* Miss New York wasn't the only one with a gimmick in her talent, Miss Ohio (also a prelim talent winner) is getting national attention for her ventriloquist routine

(Silly me, I originally thought the gimmick here was going to be the "Joan Rivers" doll commenting on the inanity of a "mullet" dress with *sequined* pants!)

In the end, it wasn't a bad pageant overall. I think the winner had many pageant watchers (as opposed to the general public) taking a drink from a red solo cup because no one EVER expected a three-peat. I admit I didn't pay much attention to Kira in the lead-up to the Pageant for precisely this reason. Going into last night (as I shared on social media), I predicted 11 of the Top 16 correctly. But after that I went off the rails as my pick in each subsequent event was eliminated. Interestingly enough, 3 of the Top 5 were part of my missed group of 5 (the winner, NY, 1st-runner-up VA, and AR). I have told people for months FL and MA would be Top 5, so at least I can keep my Pageant PhD for that I suppose.

The bigger issue here is that if Miss America keeps three hours on the network (and it's possible with the new dick clark production deal) they absolutely must consider showing more of the interview process. I, like many others, believe much of the Pageant is determined in the interview room, not only because it's such a big part of the score but also because judges "like" contestants from then on. The viewing audience, who only tune in once per year, must see more in the room-- even more than was shown last night.

Or, at least in the case of one contestant, perhaps a bit less.

Seems Miss Nebraska (along with Jane "Austin," oy) got the memo that you gotta get a gimmick and took it a bit too literally in the Gypsy Rose Lee sense...

Mess America: But Still the Largest Source of Scholarships for Women

The past month has been full of "pageant scandals." From discussions about bodies, state-hopping, age of contestants, and tabulation errors, I can scarcely recall a time that both Miss USA and Miss America were so talked about in the news. Unfortunately it's all for negative reasons and not for positive ones... The Miss USA  pageant had the former two issues and Miss America the latter. Just as there are differences between the two systems (and some similarities, articulated very well here by former contestant and winner in both), this year the scandals also differ in an important way. The Miss America scandals haven't been caused by a lie, or alleged lie; instead, they are the result of human error. Below I present my take on both of the issues and then some overall take-aways. Miss Delaware- Look, the rules are clear. Amanda Longacre is too old to compete at Miss America and never should have been allowed to compete at the local or state level. Many are blaming those in the organization, and they should accept part of the blame as they validated her paperwork-- even sending it to the national office where the error was found! But Longacre also is at fault. It is true she didn't lie, but you don't sign a contract and not read every detail. Even though she was told it was ok, she knew it wasn't as she asked in the first place. And interviews like this one where she comes across as whiny and litigious simply don't help. She is almost 25 as we know, and I have seen preteens hold themselves together better. As she says is new to pageantry; this wasn't a lifelong dream for her. She is getting national exposure and she needs to capitalize, not whine.

Miss Florida- Truly the more unfair/upsetting situation, and every winner and director's worst nightmare. On the one hand the Miss Florida Organization did the right thing by correcting the error <insert obligatory joke about Florida recounts>. It is truly unfortunate for all involved as Elizabeth Fechtel (crowned the winner but actually the 1st-runner-up) had already changed her whole school/life schedule in the few days since she was crowned. Also Cowen lost her chance at a crowning moment. I think both ladies are beautiful and seem to be talented (Fechtel was actually Miss America's Outstanding Teen previously so is used to success and the MAO system) and will be fine. And Fechtel, based on her blog about the situation could *definitely* teach Longacre a thing or two about how to handle a situation like this with grace (I love her line that she was herself before the title and will continue to be herself).

Ok, that said, I sense something fishy actually went down in Florida. I followed the Miss Florida competition because I was keeping track of the success of one of the contestants who I have previously met (and she made the Top 10 there on her first try-- congrats, Kelsey Beck!). I follow Pageant groups on Facebook (like the Junkies), people on Twitter, and sometimes the Voy boards for updates. Now, the Voy boards can be vicious and full of lies, so I often take what I read with a serious grain of salt-- as I've talked about on the record before. Throughout the pageant week it was posted many times (hard to tell if it was one person posting many times or actually different people) that Fechtel had been heard saying she did not want to actually win Miss Florida this year. Now if this was said after the mix-up I wouldn't pay it any heed. But it was said many times before, and even on the night of the competition someone wrote that she would resign if she won... And then six days later this very unexpected news? Odd. If she had resigned she never would have been able to compete again, but this way she can and have a huge leg-up.

Now let's talk about the error. So Miss America goes on total points UNTIL you get to the Top 5. Then there is a final ballot and all the previous scores are wiped clean. Judges rank 1-5 and each rank gets points assigned to it, and placing someone first gives them many more points than placing someone second. The official story is: "The family says it was told that one of the judges changed his mind while scoring first and second place on the night of the pageant and that "in the last 15 seconds of the time allotted to vote, that he drew lines to reverse his first vote," mother Dixie Fechtel wrote in an email." I judged Miss New Jersey last year. I can absolutely promise you there were NO shenanigans and we had no idea who was a returning competitor, who was "well-liked" by the organization, etc. The final ballot can be stressful, but not that stressful. One of the judges next to me did make changes and the Judges' Chairwoman made him initial all changes and consulted him before moving forward in any round. She was great and FL should have had someone so conscientious. But the addition is so simple it is hard to believe it took so long to figure out... Unless, of course something else went on. We will never know the truth. In any case, I suspect we will see Fechtel on the Miss America stage someday, she is only 20 and has several more years of eligibility, and even if she doesn't as her supporters say she will be fine.

More than anything though this situation highlights the fact that Miss America is overwhelmingly run by volunteers. People give immense amounts of time and resources to run these local and state programs. Even at the national level high-placed people are volunteers. With so much at stake in terms of finances and credibility, it might be time to establish professional positions at least at the state level.

Speaking of, the National organization is doing the right thing and awarding BOTH Miss Delaware 2014s the full scholarship money (note the huge discrepancy in winnings state to state, here DE gets $9000 and FL gets $20,000). This puts the emphasis on the positive aspect of the Miss America program, that while it is a pageant it is the largest source of scholarship money for women in the world. Even the runners-up pull in large amounts of scholarship monies, especially if they win multiple awards.

And, about those runners-up. I hope these two anomalous situations don't give false hope to first-runners-up! If anything it should make people feel more sure of results since tabulators, directors, and chairpeople will be triply checking rules and scores from now on. Then again, check out the bio of the newly crowned Miss Wisconsin 2014, Raeanna Johnson. She was also Miss Wisconsin 2012. Why? She was first runner-up and Miss Wisconsin that year, Laura Kaeppeler (now married to Bachelor/Bachelorette producer Mike Fleiss who was her JUDGE at Miss America!), won Miss America so she assumed her duties. Since Johnson never competed on the Miss America stage she was eligible to re-compete. So, on second thought, hold on to your tiaras all you first runners-up, things will change for at least one of you in September!

Friday Night Tykes: The Male Version of Toddlers & Tiaras

I've often said that in many ways the hyper-masculinity of youth (tackle) football-- especially in the South-- is the analog to the hyper-femininity of child beauty pageants. Esquire TV's controversial series Friday Night Tykes proves it. The 10-episode series, plus a review and discussion show called Tackling Tykes that does a great job summarizing the season and discussing the serious issues it raised, follows five teams of 8-9-year-old boys in Texas. The boys are taught to swear, to injure others, to work so hard they vomit. We see disturbing images of kids unconscious on the field. These children are clearly susceptible to both long-term physical and psychological damage. Much more damage than what a spray tan causes I might add (not that I'm condoning that, just pointing out the reality).

The show has rightly caused a firestorm, which already resulted in the suspension of two coaches, one of whom was suspended for a whole season. That coach, Charles Chavarria, is one of the most disturbing people portrayed on the show-- and basically that I've seen who works with kids. I think the man actually thinks he is coaching an NFL team. He sacrificed his family (and sometimes it seemed his sanity and happiness) to coach kids who he thought were "losers." This man is one reason why those who work with children need to be certified.

Chavarria accuses TYFA (the league that organizes competition for independently owned and operated football clubs) of not offering enough coach training. I was surprised how many of the head and assistant coaches were parents because in my research I found that many serious pay-to-play leagues have moved away from this model to avoid conflict of interest and establish some credibility with respect to coaching and training methods. It's unclear, but seems to be the case, that these are actually volunteer positions-- which makes Chavarria, who doesn't even have kids this age playing, all the more dumbfounding. Parents are clearly getting involved in the hopes of encouraging coaches to play their own child more, explicitly the case with the momager of Chavarria's team, basically the only women in any position of "authority" shown on the program.

Many of the issues that are highlighted in the show are ones I discuss in Playing to Win, especially in Chapter 5 on the business of competitive afterschool activities. These include parents/coaches lying about the age of children leading to verification sessions, recruiting violations by coaches, and disputes over participation trophies. Even statements made by parents and coaches on the show echo direct quotes from the book-- like if you want to raise kids to be winners or losers. So if you want more on how and why we got to this system, please read the book.

The best episode was by far the reunion, mainly because (and I say this as someone who watches every reality show and doc on subjects like this), the series was poorly produced. Many episodes were repetitive, some concentrated too much on tangential issues and not enough on the main story arc. Too many teams and "characters" were introduced and they were was almost too much crazy and not enough fun, sane families (basically only one was shown giving their child, who is clearly talented, any sense of balance in terms of school and family). The reunion highlighted major issues like injuries, identity formation, and long-term prospects for these kids. I loved that they brought in experts and successful NFL coaches and players to say that this system is pretty broken and doesn't even necessarily produce successful high school, college, or pro players.

The sociologist in me does think that missing from the reunion show was a discussion of race, class, and gender. The class issue was referred to once during the regular series, saying the kids on a particular team didn't live in the "soft" gated communities. Some of the coaches talk about previous brushes with the law, which was another oblique reference. Most of the kids and coaches shown are African-American. And they basically only show men. I'd love to see more of these issues addressed and hear what people on the ground think of them and how football is segregating people by positions, sport, and future development in the U.S. today.

Since there will be a Season 2, there's still time to explore these complicated but important angles. I do think there is something different about youth tackle football than many other activities at this age, but the broader issues are emblematic of what is going on not only in youth sports but also in afterschool activities. So, for instance, if you're looking to get your extreme parenting fix now that Toddlers & Tiaras has been cancelled, look out for the next season of Friday Night Tykes...

Why do people watch Miss USA?

Another year, another Miss USA crowned. You likely won't remember,  or ever know, but Miss USA 2014's name is Nia Sanchez and she represented Nevada. Her crowning has made a few headlines, like this article about her final answer on sexual assault on campus (though George Will is the one really making headlines about this these days), but in general the winner was tame. No big viral YouTube moments. No "firsts." Just a very pretty, thin girl winning a crown and a year working for Donald Trump (although the "normal" weight of one contestant generated conversation, which if you look at her pic you will realize is exceptional given how thin even she is!.

What was different this year was that the pageant was THREE HOURS LONG. Judging by my Twitter feed most people like me (loyal pageant watchers) were bored. It took over an hour to even announce a Top TWENTY. While it was great to get that much time for a pageant on a Sunday night, I would have far, far preferred to see that time go to Miss America.

Yes, I am a bit biased toward Miss America in general, but this is also because Miss America has an extra component to the competition-- talent. All Top 10 Miss America finalists used to have their talents televised live. I feel strongly this should return (and not in the reality format elimination way they do it now). Sometimes those talents are laughably terrible, sometimes just cringe-worthy, more often average, and occasionally really good. But at least there we see more than tan bodies, stick thin legs, and too much hair and make-up. Truly, some of the contestants (especially Miss TN with her Tammy Faye eyes and whose look made her look like an aging politician's wife!) look like parodies of women. Talent remains one of the biggest differences between the two systems, as I mention in this news article out last week.

I was reminded of this talent issue because I DVRed both Miss USA and the Tonys. Thank goodness; see that loooong factor. I was surprised that the two were up against one another given that there is a substantial overlap in their target audiences. That said, it was so obvious that one three-hour broadcast sent a very different message and showcased a lot more talent than the other. You figure out which one is which. There may have been some over the top moments in both, but the one I mean had more authenticity than is showcased in this clip of what contestants would do if they won:

(Note that Nevada did NOT do this when she actually won!)

Despite all this, apparently I am wrong because ratings for Miss USA were UP this year and the total number of viewers increased over the three hours! So what do I know, right?! So I am honestly curious: why do 5 million+ people watch Miss USA? Obviously it's for the beautiful, scantily clad women, but isn't the Victoria's Secret fashion better (apparently, yes, as they get almost twice as many viewers)? Miss America has more history and gravitas, even if most people can't distinguish between the two. Is it for the judges (like Lance Bass who has recently judged both!)? Or is it timing and there is more on TV in September? Or something else entirely?

In any case, the winner was an early favorite of mine, so at least I was right there. And I have to say that I feel for the first runner-up, Audra Mari from North Dakota. She was also first runner-up to Miss Teen USA in 2011! Perhaps she can try to win Miss America, which has never had a Miss North Dakota win, next? So long as she has a talent!

Update: I LOVE some of these answers I am getting, especially since they suggest that competition is innately interesting and there is nothing wrong with pretty things and sequins. Great reminder! I guess you could ask why some people watch hockey or soccer or football as well...

"Pageants are the ORIGINAL reality tv. I like to watch because 9 times out of 10, my "faves" are the winners. I actually take the time to read profiles, particularly for Miss America."

"Because they're fun. And because I like sparkles and drama and dresses that twirl. And I missed the point at which it became taboo to like these things, or to require a "larger meaning" behind every choice I make. The scholarship money was nice. The skills I developed were great. But would have I participated if I earned no money, and just got the crown? Yep."

Books Are Living Things: Playing to Win continues to spark conversation

As my friend and scholar/writer Margarita Mooney likes to say, "Books have long lives." While Playing to Win is still less than a year old, I can see how this is true as the book continues to inspire questions, dialogue, and conversations in a variety of settings. In the past two months I've been lucky to speak (in person, in writing, virtually, and in the media) to a range of people who are interested in the topic of kids and competition including parents, students (undergraduate and graduate), and professors.

One of the questions brought up by almost every audience I address is the issue of inequality-- a hot topic these days beyond Piketty's recent work. The issue of educational inequality and how afterschool activities can lead to the unequal distribution of competitive/cultural capital among kids is one I have talked about before. These activities can be transformative for kids in multiple ways, and class is one of them. They can also offer opportunities to be exposed to new people and experiences.

This is one of the reasons I fell in love with scholastic chess while researching Playing to Win. Chess is diverse, as close to democratic as an activity can get, and a challenge. It promotes sportsmanship, logic, and long-term thinking. What is not to love? While I still can't really play, I got into the world of chess, even reading Chess Life and Chess Life for Kids each month, so having a two-page review of the book in Chess Life was a real thrill. The reviewer brought up some excellent points, but I had to take issue with the presentation of some of the numbers and explain that I absolutely value chess' diversity. Thankfully, the editors published my full response in a recent issue-- proof that dialogue continues and conversations on these important topics are ongoing!

Now I just need to get Carston playing with the pawns soon, hopefully in the next few months...