Showing results for "Beauty Queens" in Gender Studies

In the late 1960s, Patsy Channing, a stunningly beautiful young woman, was suspended from the venerable Mississippi State College for Women for breach of conduct. The resulting scandal reached all the way to the Columbus courthouse, and the press ate it up. But Patsy's story starts long before that, living with a preoccupied and troubled mother in Memphis, Tennessee. Music becomes her ticket out and a vehicle for the one thing she covets most—a chance to be crowned Miss America. In Confessions of a Southern Beauty Queen, Julie Hines Mabus provides a peek into that world.

Growing up in West Texas, Jane Little Botkin didn't have designs on becoming a beauty queen. But not long after joining a pageant on a whim in college, she became the first protégé of El Paso's Richard Guy and Rex Holt, known as the "Kings of Beauty"—just as the 1970's counterculture movement began to take off.

In writing this book, I wanted to create a space where the multifaceted beauty of women could be explored and honoured. Each chapter delves into different aspects of womanhood, highlighting the diverse roles that women play and the unique qualities they bring to every facet of life. From the nurturing hands that care for children to the visionary minds that lead nations, women embody a spectrum of experiences and attributes that enrich our world.