Miss America ‘68, women’s lib, and the politics of beauty
Summary
Historian Mickey McAuliffe discusses her book *Liberation Summer*, debunking the myth of bra-burning at the 1968 Miss America protest. She reveals how three groups—feminists, Miss Black America contestants, and pageant defenders—clashed, shaping a lasting "politics of beauty." McAuliffe traces this conflict from the rise of the religious right to Donald Trump’s pageant career and modern beauty standards.
Topics discussed
Introduction and the myth of bra burning
How the bra burning caricature was created
The three groups of women at the 1968 protest
The history and evolution of the Miss America pageant
The significance of the Miss Black America pageant
Donald Trump's involvement in beauty pageants
Break and advertisements
Beauty as a terrain of political power
The Miss Black America pageant and Emmett Till
Vanessa Williams and the disciplining of Black beauty
Break and advertisements
Women defending Miss America and the rise of the religious right
The modern resurgence of the Miss America pageant
Review of Big Bang Theory spinoff and show credits
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