“It’s beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart.”

Though we as a society often give attention to the more attractive, beauty is not everything. Granted, beauty pageant competitors have all been blessed with good looks, but many have a point to communicate to the rest of the world, such as former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin who placed second in the Miss Alaska 1984 beauty pageant. The competitors have simply been misrepresented by the numerous ditzy contestants which characterize the stereotypical beauty queen, from Miss Congeniality's naïve Miss Rhode Island, to 2009's Miss South Carolina, known for her air-headed reply as she verbally stumbled over her answer about geographically-challenged Americans.

These contests, often with a spin such as Miss America or Miss Teen America, have been around for decades, so it is not a surprise to see promotions in schools. Fliers were distributed advertising a teen beauty pageant sponsored by the California Scholarship Foundation, not to be confused with the California Scholarship Federation, an honor society composed of over 200 tutors who are matched up to the school population. The California Scholarship Federation is a widely known organization on campus, while the California Scholarship Foundation is an entirely different organization under the auspices of Danfranc Productions, which "specializes in the organization and production of special events honoring outstanding young men and women of achievement throughout the United States," according to their Web site (www.webspawner.com/users/danfranc/).

Although beauty pageants are associated with certain images, they have evolved from past decades when the contestants were judged mostly on physical appearance, including the infamous swimsuit walk, to a more modern time when judges survey other attributes such as talent, intellectual responses and awareness of current issues, classically spoofed as the robotic goal of all contestants in the film Miss Congeniality: "World Peace." However, when the fliers arriving at school claim that beauty competition have morphed into academic competitions, the idea is simply absurd, especially when the core values of the competition still emphasize beauty over brains.

Though there has been an effort to remove the superficial aspect of competitions, eliminating the swimsuit section of the competition, and instead judging on academic achievement, school and community involvement, and poise and personality in evening wear, the competition is still mainly based on beauty, since applicants have to send in their portraits and the winners have mainly been slender women who sport straight white teeth, clear skin and a chest that can boost up a fancy formal gown.

It's that emphasis that has caused beauty pageants to be constantly criticized as degrading to women, teaching young women a skewed vision of beauty and even contributing to eating disorders. However, that is based on a pageant that is limited to figure and face. If updated, the pageant has the potential to become an institution that truly encourages young women to express their accomplishments and positions on issues. Beauty and academics should not be mixed, the potential is to shift from an emphasis on stereotypical images of beauty towards healthier role models. Pageants as a whole should be developed into something based on more than attractiveness - fitness over beauty and brains over the outer shell. Times have changed away from the cult of domesticity, and the tradition of beauty pageants should follow society's example. Women should not be identified solely with image. There is more to a woman than simply a pretty face.