Beauty Pageants: A History of Poise, Charm, and Spray Adhesive

The ancient Greeks might have come up with beauty contests (naturally), but modern America perfected them! An awful lot of stuff is crammed in to the history of the beauty pageant as we know it today: Atlantic City tourism, scholarships, segregation, Klingons, and yes, bikini glue. It's a controversial topic, but it's also awfully hard to resist the allure of a pageant queen!

Further Reading:

• A Look Back at the Sexist, Racist History of Beauty Pageants (Racked)
• What's the History of Child Pageants? (Bustle)
• 10 Bizarre Beauty Pageants from the Past (Listverse)
• I Went to the Miss America Pageant and Had a Full-On Existential Crisis (Bustle)
• Miss America Pageant (John Oliver, Last Week Tonight) VIDEO