Perceptions of traditional beauty standards in televised pageants

Media images of women who embody traditional standards of beauty tend to affect women's satisfaction with their bodies. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact that watching televised beauty pageants has on women's body image, appearance satisfaction, and social comparisons. The principal method of data gathering is a focus group discussion, but open-ended survey questions and the Body Appreciation Scale and the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale are also implemented. The study was compromised of five college-aged women. Results suggest that women oppose the lack of diversity in pageants. They reported seeing contestants who tend to be thin, lighter skinned, and fairly tall. Most participants compared themselves to pageant contestants, but this did not mean they were vastly dissatisfied with their appearance or that they desired to emulate contestants. The results are discussed in reference to social comparison theory. A new theme about the perceptions of beauty pageants and contestants emerged the during the focus group discussion. Participants criticized pageants and believed they lack value. Recommendations for future research are provided.