Set of bindis, part of a lehenga costume worn by Nina Davuluri in the Miss America 2014 pageant
date: label: date made
content: before 2014
notes: label: Description
content: Davuluri was the first Indian American woman to earn the Miss America title, and the second Asian American Miss America in the pageant’s history. Davuluri’s win, and the diversity of backgrounds of the finalists in the 2014 pageant, were acclaimed as milestones in the history of the Miss America pageant.
label: Description
content: This costume was worn by Davuluri during her performance of the song “Dhoom Taana,” from the 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film Om Shanti Om. Her talent routine performance, featuring traditional Indian style choreography combined with Bollywood influences, was the first time that Bollywood performance was featured on the Miss America stage.
label: Description
content: As Miss America, Davuluri faced significant xenophobic and racist opposition on social media, including misidentification of her ethnic background as Arab or Muslim. Despite these challenges, Davuluri continues to speak out against racist and colorist ideologies, and additionally, how these harmful practices affect young women of color in the United States.
label: Description
content: During her reign as Miss America, Davuluri promoted a number of causes including her platform "Celebrating Diversity Through Cultural Competency" and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education to high-school and college students. She also spoke out against racism and colorism, especially as these prejudices effect young women of color in the United States. In the years since, she has continued to work as an activist and speaker while also pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.
label: Description
content: The Miss America pageant is not only the most popular beauty pageant in American history; it has also shaped Americans’ conversations about and conceptions of gender, sexuality, beauty, race, disability, and activism over the past century. The Miss America pageant has been remarkably successful and influential, with its television broadcast sometimes ranking among the top-rated programs annually, but the competition has inspired protest and criticism from both socially conservative and feminist activists who have denounced its vision of ideal womanhood and judgement based on physical appearance. In recent decades, reformers and advocates have attempted to rebrand the competition as a more inclusive and supportive contest that gives women a platform to celebrate their achievements and advocate for important causes.
label: Description
content: The Miss America pageant was first staged in 1921 as a “bather’s review” conceived by Atlantic City, New Jersey business owners, boosters, and journalists as a way to bring visitors to the resort area in the off-season. With its borderline scientific assessments of female beauty and physique, the Miss America pageant became the target for many social reform initiatives in the years to come. Following its first few years, the pageant transitioned from a pure beauty contest to a test of refinement, grace, and purity that sought to define and control the image of femininity in American society. Joining the swimsuit competition were a talent portion, college scholarships for winners, and a formal association with the national Junior Chamber of Commerce organization that helped crown “modest, cheerful, obedient, and essentially conservative young college women,” as pageant historian Amy Argetsinger wrote.
label: Description
content: It was not until the post-World War II period that the pageant began to face pushback in various forms, such as Miss America 1951 Yolande Betbeze’s refusal to wear a swimsuit in advertisements, and her subsequent protest of the sexual objectification she faced as Miss America. Feminist activist challenged the pageant’s elevation of normative White womanhood, calling attention its sexism and objectification of contestants’ bodies as well as the narrow and racist beauty standards it upheld. Though the racially exclusive barriers to compete in the pageant were legally removed in 1950, it was not until Miss Iowa 1971 Cheryl Browne that the first African American woman competed in the pageant, and it took over an additional decade for the first African American Miss America to be crowned, with New York-native Vanessa Williams winning the title in 1984. Williams was forced to resign the following year when nude photographs she had posed for came to light, supposedly tarnishing the image of the organization – a controversial move that was hotly debated and seemed to further damage the pageant’s reputation for diversity and inclusion.
label: Description
content: Towards the end of the 20th century and into the 21st, the pageant evolved as more and more women began to use their platform as Miss America to advocate for political and social causes. The Miss America organization now bills itself as “first, and foremost, a scholarship program,” highlighting its long-standing tradition of awarding educational scholarships to titleholders. The organization pays titleholders a generous salary and organizes appearances throughout the country while requiring candidates to raise money for charity. The swimsuit competition was eliminated from the pageant program in 2018. A more recent rebrand as “Miss America 2.0,” promises “a fresh take” for “a new generation of female leaders.” In its changing scope, inclusion of women from diverse backgrounds, and evolving definition of “womanhood,” the Miss America pageant maintains its influence in American culture while mirror broader changes in American society.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: associated subject
content: Beauty Contests & Pageants
label: user's community
content: East Indian Americans
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Nina Davuluri
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2024.0029.01.07
label: catalog number
content: 2024.0029.01.07
label: accession number
content: 2024.0029
objectType: label: Object Name
content: set of bindis
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper, adhesive tape, metal (envelope material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (bindi stickers material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 in x 3 3/4 in; 7.62 cm x 9.525 cm