Beauty contest" and "Beauty queen" redirect here. For other uses, see
Beauty contest (disambiguation) and
Beauty queen (disambigu).The organizers of each pageant may determine the rules of the competition, including the age range of contestants. The rules may also require the contestants to be unmarried, and be "virtuous", "amateur", and available for promotions, besides other criteria. It may also set the clothing standards in which contestants will be judged, including the type of swimsuit.A
beauty pageant or
beauty contest is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the
physical attributes of the contestants, although most contests have evolved to also incorporate
personality traits, intelligence, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria. The term almost invariably refers only to contests for unmarried women such as the
Big Four international beauty pageants.
[1][2][3] Similar events or competition for men or boys being called by other names and more likely to be
bodybuilding contests.
Beauty pageants are generally multi-tiered, with local competitions feeding into the larger competitions. For example, the international pageants have hundreds or thousands of local competitions.
Child beauty pageants mainly focus on beauty, gowns, sportswear modelling, talent, and personal interviews. Adult and teen pageants focus on makeup, hair and gowns, swimsuit modelling, and personal interviews. A winner of a beauty contest is often called a
beauty queen. The rankings of the contestants are referred to as
placements.
