1950s Beauty Pageant Judging Guidelines

Pageant-Chart

Gwen of Sociological Images compares a chart used by judges in the 1950s to pick Miss Universe with the 4H market steer charts she used to to see when she was in 4H.

First, some people like to suggest that men are programmed by evolution to find a particular body shape attractive.  Clearly, if judging women's bodies requires this much instruction, either (1) nature has left us incompetent or (2) cultural norms defining beauty overwhelm any biological predisposition to be attracted to specific body types.

Second, the chart reveals the level of scrutiny women faced in 1959 (and I'd argue it's not so different today).   It made me think of my years in 4-H. I was a farm kid and I showed steers for several years and also took part in livestock and meat judging competitions. I was good at it, just so you know. Anyway, what the beauty pageant image brought to mind was the handouts we'd look at to learn how to judge livestock.

1950s Beauty Pageant Judging Guidelines