Pageant Seeks Beauty of a Sort That Isn’t Just Skin Deep

A big heart and a keen mind will apparently count for more than a big bosom and a keen personality in this year’s Ms. Santa Monica pageant.

Organizers have decreed that traditional beauty-based pageants are sexist and outmoded. From now on, Ms. Santa Monica contestants will be judged on community involvement, achievement, goals and other “appropriate” points of merit.

“This is really an attempt to break from the past,” said Don Sowers, a member of the sponsoring Santa Monica Jaycees. “We want to recognize a young woman for the total person she is. Recognizing someone strictly for physical attributes is no longer appropriate now that we’re well into the ‘80s.”

Organizers are encouraging women of every size, shape and form to enter the Feb. 6 contest. In keeping with the theme, Showers said entrants will not be required to wear skin-tight swimsuits and there will be no talent competition.

Officials will not bar a contestant from tap dancing or singing if that is her inclination. But Sowers said primary emphasis will be placed on the entrants’ overall poise, community dedication and knowledge of current events.

“We want to recognize an individual who has achieved something,” Sowers said. “We think this will cause a lot of people to turn around and look.”

Beauty pageant organizers nationwide have been criticized for placing too much emphasis on physical attributes. However, the Santa Monica Jaycees are the first to totally abolish the category, according to Sowers.

The change was prompted by comments from women in and outside of the Jaycees, including Sowers’ girlfriend. First they changed the title from the Miss Santa Monica Beauty Pageant to the Ms. Santa Monica Pageant. By summertime, Sowers said, they had decided to jettison the beauty category altogether. The city’s Commission on the Status of Women welcomed the decision. So did Santa Monica Mayor James Conn.

Conn said the Jaycees’ move acknowledges the dignity of women. “It indicates a mainstream organization’s response to a raising of consciousness of women over the past 15 years,” Conn said. “I applaud their effort to de-emphasize pulchritude and emphasize personhood.”

Cool Reception

The idea got a cooler reception from other beauty pageant officials. The organizers of the Miss California Pageant could not be reached for comment. But a spokeswoman for Miss Universe, which coordinates several contests, said her organization had no intention of de-emphasizing beauty requirements. Brandy McKay said the pageants are a popular and time-honored tradition.

The 30-year-old Santa Monica pageant used to be a part of that tradition. In the past, winners were picked largely for their physical attractiveness and usually went on to compete in the Miss California Pageant. The new guidelines could put a damper on that aspect of the contest. Sowers said the winner of the Santa Monica pageant will be informed of her option to compete in the statewide beauty contest, but will not be required or expected to do so.

He said organizers are mostly interested in finding a winner who will be a dedicated “ambassador of good will” for Santa Monica. Any woman 18 or older by June 1 and living on the Westside is eligible for the contest, which will take place at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The winner will receive a two-way trip to an undetermined vacation spot as well as other smaller prizes, according to Sowers.

The Ms. Santa Monica Pageant is a nonprofit event. The 40 women who are selected to appear in the contest pay a fee of $300 each to cover expenses. Money from the event will go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a charity.

Sowers, an assistant district attorney, said one pageant tradition has not been eliminated. Ms. Santa Monica of 1987, whether she is a teen-ager or a grandmother, fat or thin, talented or untalented, will receive a crown.

He said organizers are optimistic about the prospects for success. “We’re sending a message to the Miss California and Miss USA officials,” Sowers said. “We have been successful just by getting this far with it.”