We watch them decide how far they're willing to go in pursuit of beauty. Girls competing in pageants work hard to live up to a specific ideal of contemporary feminine behavior and beauty. Not only do wardrobes and props add up to thousands of dollars, but, to become a beauty princess, the ordinary teenage girl must endure elaborate transformation rituals. Not only are the girls taught to stand and to walk anew, they are expected to be always smiling, pleasing to others, quiet, polite and gentile. Some girls passionately embrace the beauty queen icon, stating that pageants give them a chance to travel, to learn confidence, to win money for college and to build their own identities.
Some interviews reveal the bittersweet quality of competing for beauty titles.
Alison, age 13, relates the profound disappointment she felt in losing an important contest. I don't know what I wanted to do, I just felt so bad. One judge killed me. That's what they do. One judge can tear you up.