Ballet leotard worn by Heather Whitestone McCallum during the 1995 Miss America competition
name: label: user
content: McCallum, Heather Whitestone
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Ballet leotard worn by Heather Whitestone McCallum during the 1995 Miss America competition is an off white satin leotard wth beading on the bodice and over the shoulder starps. There is beading at the waist where a flowing tulle skirt is attached. The skirt is mid thigh length and contains sequins throughout. Accorsing to the donor, the ballet costume is handmade by both of her mother Daphne Gray (she added the glitters and the lace materials on the costume) and a costume designer (skirt/leotard ) whom she does not remember their name. McCallum's use of dance was especially interesting because she was deaf and felt the music vibrations rather than hearing the music. The ballet costume, swimsuit, and hearing aid microphone used by Heather Whitestone McCallum in the Miss America 1995 competition, help illustrate the pageant's history and influence on conversations about gender, disability, adaptive technology, and fashion in American life. McCallum, who is deaf, was the first Miss America titleholder with a disability. She was criticized by some in the Deaf community for her reliance on her hearing aid, lip reading, and speaking in vocal English rather than American Sign Language. Whitestone made advocacy for the deaf community her platform during her reign and has continued to work as a motivational speaker and author in the years afterward.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2021.0164.02
label: accession number
content: 2021.0164
label: catalog number
content: 2021.0164.02
objectType: label: Object Name
content: ballet leotard
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric, satin (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: fabric, tulle (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 41 in x 11 in; 104.14 cm x 27.94 cm