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There she was : the secret history of Miss America / Amy Argetsinger.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : One Signal Publishers/Atria, 2021Edition: First One Signal Publishers/Atria Books hardcover editionDescription: xxv, 356 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781982123390
  • 1982123397
Other title:
  • Secret history of Miss America
Subject(s):
Contents:
Author's note -- Prologue -- "Somewhere out there is what you want to do" -- "It's like a performance of femininity" : becoming Miss America : October 2018 -- "Something electric in the room" : 1980 -- "They can exploit me any day" : 1970s -- "Until there is nothing more to win" : becoming Miss America : January 2019 -- "It couldn't just be a beauty contest" : 1921 -- "Miss New York is going to win" : 1983 -- "You cannot let down for a second." : becoming Miss America : June 2019 -- "Do you think I'm the first woman to have an interest?" : 1991 -- "I wanted to be a little out of the box" : becoming Miss America : November 2019 -- "Everyone wanted something from me that I couldn't give them." : 2007 -- "You don't leverage the Godfather" : 2017 -- "That title isn't going to win everything" : 2018 -- "There she is..." : becoming Miss America : December 2019 -- Epilogue.
Summary: An editor for The Washington Post's Style section offers a look back on the Miss America pageant as it approaches its 100th anniversary, spotlighting how it has survived decades of social and cultural change and redefined itself alongside evolving ideas of feminism.Summary: For all of its pomp and kitsch, the Miss America pageant is indelibly written into the American story of the past century. From its origins as a summer's-end tourist draw, it blossomed into a televised extravaganza and was once considered the highest honor that a young woman could achieve. Argetsinger spotlights how the pageant survived decades of social and cultural change, collided with a women's liberation movement that sought to abolish it, and redefined itself alongside evolving ideas about feminism. In doing so, she charts the evolution of the American woman, dissects the scandals and financial turmoil that have repeatedly threatened to kill the pageant-- and highlights the unexpected sisterhood of Miss Americas fighting to keep it alive. -- adapted from jacket
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 791.66 A691 Available 33111010599732
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 791.66 A691 Available 33111010749188
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Argetsinger...is a true pageant enthusiast; she brings empathy and respect to the women who have followed this path." -- The Washington Post

A Washington Post Style editor's fascinating and irresistible look back on the Miss America pageant as it approaches its 100th anniversary.

The sash. The tears. The glittering crown. And of course, that soaring song. For all of its pomp and kitsch, the Miss America pageant is indelibly written into the American story of the past century. From its giddy origins as a summer's-end tourist draw in Prohibition-era Atlantic City, it blossomed into a televised extravaganza that drew tens of millions of viewers in its heyday and was once considered the highest honor that a young woman could achieve.

For two years, Washington Post reporter and editor Amy Argetsinger visited pageants and interviewed former winners and contestants to unveil the hidden world of this iconic institution. There She Was spotlights how the pageant survived decades of social and cultural change, collided with a women's liberation movement that sought to abolish it, and redefined itself alongside evolving ideas about feminism.

For its superstars--Phyllis George, Vanessa Williams, Gretchen Carlson--and for those who never became household names, Miss America was a platform for women to exercise their ambitions and learn brutal lessons about the culture of fame. Spirited and revelatory, There She Was charts the evolution of the American woman, from the Miss America catapulted into advocacy after she was exposed as a survivor of domestic violence to the one who used her crown to launch a congressional campaign; from a 1930s winner who ran away on the night of her crowning to a present-day rock guitarist carving out her place in this world. Argetsinger dissects the scandals and financial turmoil that have repeatedly threatened to kill the pageant--and highlights the unexpected sisterhood of Miss Americas fighting to keep it alive.

Author's note -- Prologue -- "Somewhere out there is what you want to do" -- "It's like a performance of femininity" : becoming Miss America : October 2018 -- "Something electric in the room" : 1980 -- "They can exploit me any day" : 1970s -- "Until there is nothing more to win" : becoming Miss America : January 2019 -- "It couldn't just be a beauty contest" : 1921 -- "Miss New York is going to win" : 1983 -- "You cannot let down for a second." : becoming Miss America : June 2019 -- "Do you think I'm the first woman to have an interest?" : 1991 -- "I wanted to be a little out of the box" : becoming Miss America : November 2019 -- "Everyone wanted something from me that I couldn't give them." : 2007 -- "You don't leverage the Godfather" : 2017 -- "That title isn't going to win everything" : 2018 -- "There she is..." : becoming Miss America : December 2019 -- Epilogue.

An editor for The Washington Post's Style section offers a look back on the Miss America pageant as it approaches its 100th anniversary, spotlighting how it has survived decades of social and cultural change and redefined itself alongside evolving ideas of feminism.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-348) and index.

For all of its pomp and kitsch, the Miss America pageant is indelibly written into the American story of the past century. From its origins as a summer's-end tourist draw, it blossomed into a televised extravaganza and was once considered the highest honor that a young woman could achieve. Argetsinger spotlights how the pageant survived decades of social and cultural change, collided with a women's liberation movement that sought to abolish it, and redefined itself alongside evolving ideas about feminism. In doing so, she charts the evolution of the American woman, dissects the scandals and financial turmoil that have repeatedly threatened to kill the pageant-- and highlights the unexpected sisterhood of Miss Americas fighting to keep it alive. -- adapted from jacket

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