美国小姐失宠，不能责怪比基尼
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本月初，“美国小姐”这个搞了100多年的选美节目突然又成了人们热议的话题，因为据举办方通知，本次美国小姐大赛将不再设置泳装和礼服展示环节，很多网友也怅然地在社交媒体上发起了“拜拜比基尼”活动，吐槽举办方的这一决定。 其实，美国小姐这个百年经典节目，现在早就连生存都成了问题。 在这个各路真人秀和“网红”层出不穷的年代，美国小姐早已非昔日的大红大紫。此外在1968年，就有女权主义者在亚特兰大组织过针对美国小姐的大规模抗议活动，抨击这个选美节目“物化女性”。自此之后，随着越来越多的女性进入商界、学界、政界，当上律师、医生、CEO，反对物化女性的呼声也越来越高。 不过美国小姐也并非不能再抢救一下。笔者作为一名选秀节目研究专家，也想给美国小姐开一张药方。 美国小姐的王冠上有四个角，分别代表了时尚、服务、学识和成功。只要不忘初心，专注在这个四个方面，美国小姐还是有希望重回往日辉煌的。 时尚 穿一套三点式，再踩一双6英寸的恨天高，这就是时尚时尚最时尚了吗？未必。美国小姐代表的是一种基于健康饮食、积极锻炼而获得的健康的生活方式，这一点时至今日仍然非常重要。美国小姐不应该彻底放弃对身材的评判，而是应该引入健身元素。很多青少年选美比赛都引入了立卧撑、俯卧撑等比赛项目，像世界小姐这种国际性选美比赛，其体育环节的激烈程度简直快跟铁人三项差不多了。美国小姐也可以吸取这些经验。 服务 美国小姐的每名参赛者必须有一个旨在关注全国性问题的个人平台。优胜者的平台有的关注艾滋病教育问题，有的关注反校园霸凌问题，有的成立了许愿基金会。各州的总冠军都在她们的平台上做了很多工作，甚至在国会上宣了誓，为公益事业拉来了一大批赞助。在评分上，选美比赛应该更向这种“德育分”偏重。 学识 美国小姐是在美国拿女性教育基金最多的人，但并非所有参赛者都将她们的教育基金用在了教育上。2014年度的美国小姐尼娜·达瓦鲁丽曾表示自己想上医学院，但她现在成了一个电视节目主持人。2015年度的美国小姐基拉·卡赞谢夫说自己想上法学院，但她现在却成了一位成功学讲师。 为了让参赛者对他们的奖学金负责，举办方应该要求参赛者声明如何使用自己的教育基金。参赛者要想拿着这笔钱走，就应该过几年再回来，告诉观众她们用这笔钱干了什么。这样才能让大家相信，美国小姐对推动教育平权是认真的。 成功 很多人都知道，美国小姐是输是赢，要看她们在采访间里的表现。在节目播出前几天，每名参赛者都要站在一组评委面前接受10分钟的盘问。不过观众们在这个环节从来看不到什么有营养的内容，电视上放的片段都是选手在表演一些尴尬得令人牙疼的才艺。为了告诉大家美国小姐是怎样炼成的，在电视节目播出的时候，至少应该播放三分钟前五名选手接受评委访问的录像。 正确地做一个女王 尽管这一届的美国小姐号称更关注学识和成功，然而很多人打开电视就是为了看大长腿的，不是听你来传授人生经验的。大家就是觉得颜值即正义。美国小姐要想保持收视率（特别是在网络电视，因为它对奖金的多少太重要了），就不要管参赛的小姐姐戴不戴假睫毛这种破事。但它需要更多地关注它真正的目的——用健康的审美观慢慢改变世界。（财富中文网） 注：本文作者希拉里·利维·弗里德曼是布朗大学教育系讲师，她目前正在创作一本关于选美和美国女性的书，预计将于2020年出版。 译者：朴成奎 |
Suddenly Miss America seems relevant again. The nearly 100-year-old program made headlines this week with the announcement, accompanied by the hashtag #byebyebikini, that the swimsuit and evening gown portions of the competition are no more. But don’t be fooled: Miss America is still very much on life support. In a world of reality TV and social media celebrities, it’s hard for Miss America to break through the noise. On top of that, since 1968, when one of the foundational protests of the women’s rights movement occurred against the pageant in Atlantic City, Miss America has struggled to prove its relevance in a world where women lead in business, academia, politics, the law, medicine, and more. Yet all hope is not lost for our patient. As a pageant expert, I have a prescription based on Miss America’s own formula. The Miss America crown has four points, each with a meaning: style, service, scholarship, and success. Focusing on these offers a path forward for the grande dame of pageantry. Style Wearing six-inch heels in a bikini is not the most stylish of choices. But what Miss America evolved to represent—a healthy lifestyle based on eating well and exercising—is still important. Instead of dropping the competition’s focus on physical appearance altogether, Miss America should retain a fitness component. This might look like what many teen pageants (fitness routines with burpees and pushups) or international pageants like Miss World (an intense obstacle course that resembles a Spartan Race) feature. Service Each contestant must have a personal platform that focuses on a national issue of concern. Winners’ platforms have ranged from HIV/AIDS education to anti-bullying to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Many state winners have done substantial work on their platforms, testifying before Congress and raising a great deal of money. The pageant should value these achievements more highly in scoring. Scholarship Miss America is the largest source of educational funds to women in the U.S. Yet not all contestants use their funds for educational purposes. Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri said she planned to attend medical school, but she now hosts a TV show. Her successor, 2015 winner Kira Kazantsev, said she planned to attend law school, but she is currently a motivational speaker. To hold contestants accountable for their scholarship money, the organization should have them explain precisely how they will use their funds. And in order to receive their full award, winners should be required to return to the competition in future years to speak about what they are doing with their money. This would help reinforce the perception that the pageant is serious about empowering women. Success The popular pageant wisdom is that Miss America is won or lost in the interview room. Each contestant is grilled before a panel of judges for 10 minutes in the days before the televised broadcast. The American public never really sees the substance from those interviews, other than silly clips like a contestant burping the alphabet. To demonstrate how successful contestants have been, and can be, at least three minutes from those interviews should be shown for the top five finalists on the television broadcast. Staying a queen Despite its new focus on scholarship and success, Miss America has always been about exaggerated femininity. Many tune in for the rhinestones, the glitz, the glamour. To stay as relevant as possible—especially on network TV, which is essential to keep scholarship awards high—Miss America shouldn’t be afraid to still wear false eyelashes. But it needs to be more mindful of its real purpose—changing the world one point of the crown at a time. Hilary Levey Friedman teaches in the education department at Brown University. She is currently working on a book about the links between pageantry and American femininity, which will be published in 2020. |
