Entries in the Miss World 1969 contest
pose on a terrace of the British House of Parliament after
a tour of the palace. (AP/Wide World Photos) |
Miss World's following in the 1960s grew exponentially after
the pageant's television debut in 1959. Along with its growing
popularity through the decade, the competition was marked by
a series of scandals that put the spotlight on contestants'
off-stage lives.
In 1960, Argentina's Norma Gladys Cappagli was threatened with
disqualification from Miss World when it was reported that she
frequently drank alcohol. Britain's Lesley Langley, crowned
Miss World 1965, hit the front page of many tabloids for having
posed in the nude. Scandal broke out again four years later
when it was leaked that Sweden's Eva Von Ruber-Staier, Miss
World 1969, also had shed her clothes in a photo shoot. Both
women were spared the shame of being dethroned. But with
Miss India, Reita Faria (center),
dons the Miss World cape, scepter and crown after winning
the 1966 title. Runners-up (l. to r.) are Miss Brazil, Miss
Greece, Miss Yugoslavia and Miss Italy. (AP/Wide World Photos)
|
each successive hint of scandal, pageant organizers and viewers
at home were forced to reconcile the real Miss World contestants
with the girl-next-door image the competition had tried so hard
to package.
The women's movement of the 1960s also rocked Miss World. By
the end of the decade, feminists mobilized against the contest.
The entire beauty pageant industry faced mounting criticism
and stinging mockery. In 1968, the U.S.-based Women's Liberation
Front crowned a sheep as Miss America. Other radical women's
organizations began following suit, staging mock farm auctions
and cattle shows that drew comparisons between the treatment
of livestock and the portrayal of women in beauty contests.
NEXT - 1970s Feminists Attack the Pageant
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