ep. 215: Miss Universe
Here she is, Miss…Geopolitics? What do Miss Universe, Miss World and international beauty pageants tell us about globalization and national identity, and why are pageants becoming more popular across the Global South? Feminist sociologist Dr. Oluwakemi Balogun embedded in Nigeria’s beauty pageant industry to find out. Kemi takes us beyond Western feminism’s tête-à-tête with pageant culture and introduces us to the political role of winning crowns as “beauty diplomacy”.
Her book is Beauty Diplomacy: Embodying a Nation.
guest:
Dr. Oluwakemi Balogun: Beauty Diplomacy: Embodying an Emerging Nation
sources:
Avilés-Santiago, Manuel G. Colonial Bodies at the Media Universal Stage: The Case of Puerto Rico’s Participation in Miss Universe. Journal of Latin American Communication Research. 2016.
Balogun, Oluwakemi M. Beauty Diplomacy: Embodying an Emerging Nation. Stanford University Press. 2020.
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World: Beauty Pageants and National Identity. University of California Press. 2023.
Cauterucci, Christina. Now Please Allow Me to Ruin the Viral Story About the Beauty Queens Who Fell in Love. Slate. Nov 5, 2022.
Cohan, Michelle. How Miss Universe’s historic win helped shift the status quo for beauty standards. CNN. Aug 7, 2020.
Elledge, Annie M. and Faria, Caroline. “I want to . . . let my country shine”: Nationalism, development, and the geographies of beauty. Environment and Planning Development: Society and Space. 2020.
Glusac, Melina and Edmonds, Lauren. These 8 countries have produced the most Miss Universe winners. Insider. Jan 15, 2023.
Luscombe, Belinda. Miss Universe, Under Pressure, Plans a Reality Show Makeover. TIME. Jan 9, 2023.
Zhong, Selena and Wilkes, Rima. Does race matter in international beauty pageants? A qualitative analysis of Miss World. Journal of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Excellence. 2013.
