Many feminists censure beauty contests and consider them as degrading to females.
They say that these pageants further degrade the status of women and they portray women as mere objects in front of the society.
The first modern beauty contest was staged in the year 1854 by P.T Barnum but unfortunately his contest was brought down by public protest. In the early days beauty pageants were shunned by the middle class people and pageants did not become respectable until World War II.
Like most other international pageants Asian beauties come second to no other famous beauty pageants. Miss Asia Pacific international is the first and the oldest beauty pageant in Asia. It started as a regional pageant known as the Miss Asia quest and the participating countries came from Asia and Oceania. Miss Asia pageants are held in different countries around the world.
Similarly in the United States the Miss Asian America pageant has been an ace event in the Asian American community for the past two decades. Founded by Rose Chung in 1985 this has been the longest running Asian American pageant in the United States.
Heralding “Elegance, Beauty and Culture” Miss Asian America pageant is proud to have contributed to various humane causes and it continues to be one of the largest scholarship providers for Asian American women nationwide.
The goal of Miss Asian America Pageant is to feature young Asian American women in a high quality production that will best represent their culture, beauty, intelligence and talent. The contestants will have a scope to develop personal growth, leadership and marketing skills, friendships, teamwork and other invaluable experiences that will be with them for the remaining part of their lives. By being a part of Miss Asian America one can. join nation’s only group dedicated to fight domestic abuse and child abuse in Asian families.
A former Miss China town USA Rose Chung has expanded the event from a largely Bay Area based cultural event to the longest running and the most successful Asian American pageant in the nation. The pageant has seen through almost five hundred contestants in this program and is proud of its title holders Mona Lee Locke (Miss Asian America 1986) went on to pursue a successful career in journalism and became the First Lady of the State of Washington.
Miss Asian America is successful not only because of the wonderfully talented contestants who participate in the event but also because of the overwhelming support from the volunteers and members of the community.