Web Q&A

When we asked our Pageantrymagazine.com Web Contest visitors to tell us what lessons pageants could teach reality TV producers, many of you responded with strong criticism of the shows for what was considered their lack of realism and readiness to demean their participants. As for your suggestions, they ranged from focusing on the positive and real emotions inherent in competitions to employing the qualities that make live pageants so exciting as reality programs. Each of these winning respondents will receive a gift from the Pageantry Mall. Be sure to look for the next Web Q&A Contest online!


Reality shows are not true reality, nor are they morally appropriate. Most reality shows are taped many times, scripted, and the situations are so uncommon that they can’t be called “reality.” When are you going to need to eat a handful of worms, or survive being in a tank of spiders? I realize that in order for these shows to gain more viewers, they have to be interesting, but scripting a bizarre situation for a reality show is false advertisement. Beauty pageants are most definitely reality. They feature real women trying to earn a title of great respect and to have a life-changing experience. Beauty pageants are the results of hard work. They are not scripted, nor do they have to resort to reality-show tactics to gain the attention of millions. Beauty pageants have a special aura all their own. A beauty pageant is a real “reality show.”
Elisabeth Grado, 15
Sugar Land, Texas

The drama that is in a pageant is far more real than anything on Survivor or Fear Factor. Months of hard work, practice, and praying all come to a head each time the judges narrow the field down in a pageant, and a pageant is at its most dramatic when they announce the winner. As appealing as the tension is, what is even more wonderful about pageants is the sincerity of the people in them. These are genuinely wonderful people, who are not only beautiful on the outside but on the inside as well. They make me strive to improve myself. Network reality shows, on the other hand, show people who have no substance making fools of themselves. It is a relief to me, and probably to the rest of America, to see pageant contestants and know that there is some hope for the future.
Shelley Shrader, 16
Gates, North Carolina

What producers can learn from beauty pageants is that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Beauty pageants today capture the whole person, spotlighting the importance of inner beauty, sisterhood, and brotherhood, and awarding contestants for their contributions to society and the betterment of mankind. Interviews focus on accomplishments and contributions to worthy causes. Pageants bring out the best in competitors, not the worst.
Carol Judge, 47
Ewa Beach, Hawaii

Today’s reality shows are all geared around the shock factor, meaning which one can be more outrageous than the next. The majority of them promote promiscuity, lewd behavior, and use large sums of money to make contestants do things unimaginable. Beauty pageants show females who have accomplished extraordinary achievements in there lives and serve as good role models. Pageants encourage high moral standards and academic excellence. Reality show contestants can learn from pageants about good sportsmanship and losing gracefully.
Chenese Lewis, 24
Miss Plus America 2003
Los Angeles, California

With bizarre and often unimaginably contrived situations, most reality TV is far from being real at all. Pageants, on the other hand, are as real as it gets. Reality TV programming would benefit by focusing on people and their emotional responses to success or disappointment, rather than unrealistic situations that the “Average Joe” will never have to face.
Lori Sikorszky, 37
Canton, Ohio

As a former television news anchor, I can tell you that these “reality” TV shows “dumb down” the viewer. Pageants, on the other hand, are uplifting, graceful, and inspiring. Please, producers! Give viewers grace, and show them how people can handle adversity with the same flair as prosperity. If these so-called reality shows gave the same confidence and selflessness to their contestants as pageants do, what a refreshing world it would be!
Bobbi Bergman, 30
Des Moines, Iowa

Producers and viewers could learn a lot from beauty pageants. First, they can learn that you don’t have to be nasty and backstabbing to accomplish goals. Next, they can learn that not everyone is a sore loser (think Susan Hawk of Survivor), and that if you don’t win the first time, you should simply try harder next time. Last, they can learn that life is not all about obtaining money, power, or fame; it’s about being happy with who you are!
Crystaline Miller, 26
Buffalo, New York

Beauty pageants have been around for a long time for a good reason. They are as “live” as can be. There is no editing. What you see is what you get. If reality TV producers would truly see what goes into pageants, they would really understand reality TV.
Jazmyn Dubois, 19
Chalreston, South Carolina

Reality TV show producers lean more towards drama to increase the ratings, but in the end, beauty always wins. Beauty pageants traditionally have drawn much attention because of the physical beauty of women. Now we have beauty pageants that emphasize beauty and intelligence. Yet, in the end, the beauty of the women in a pageant is what draws the audience and the ratings. One day, the current phase of reality shows will end, but there will always be beauty pageants.
Ermaine Thomas, 24
Lafayette, Louisiana

While competing in a pageant, I was asked my opinion of reality shows. My answer was that these shows do not reflect reality. Reality shows should accurately reflect not only the fear of competing and the stress competition, as in a beauty pageant, but also the trials and expectations brought on by themselves, their families, and society. These programs should be more educational; the entertainment distracts the TV viewer from the reality.
Giselle Franco, 33
Miami, Florida

Reality TV show producers can learn from pageants the real meaning of intense! Pageant participants are nervous, their parents are nervous, and so are the judges. Pageants show real fear, as well as courage, boldness, and self-esteem. Pageants bring out the best in their contestants.
Kim Rusley, 17
Bossier, Louisiana