About a week ago I woke up in the middle of the night, nudged my husband and told him to scoot over because he was smack-dab in the middle of the bed. I then rolled over to go back to sleep and began to wonder where in the heck did "smack-dab" come from.
As I pondered, I realized that smack-dab always seems to be used in conjunction with the phrase "in the middle". You never hear someone say "I was smack-dab on the left of the issue" or "I was smack-dab on the right of the issue". It is always "I was smack-dab in the middle of the issue". One internet dictionary site even uses the phrase "smack-dab in the middle" to illustrate the meeting of smack-dab is an adverb meaning directly; squarely.
I tried to look up the origins of "smack-dab" on google. No luck. In fact, so far I've just found other ponderer's wondering the same thing I am; What are the Origins of the phrase "smack-dab in the middle"?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Are beauty pageants obsolete?
When my daughter, Amanda, was in the fifth grade she asked me if she could compete in pageants to earn scholarship money for college. I was shocked by her logic (smart kid) and mortified at the thought of my little girl parading herself in front of strangers. I told her I'd research the possibility and let her know.
I started my google search. I found an article that confirmed all of my worst fears, pageants are all about exploiting our insecurities as women. The article by Timothy D Heard stated "A beauty pageant basically consists of a competition of physical appearances, the answering of a few intelligent questions of which the respondent has derived their answers from anyone but themselves, followed by a respectable show of talent, albeit minor. The winner of such pageants then goes on to attend certain state or national events and act as a pretty 'spokes-face' for, I shudder at the thought, minor political events. The use of such people for representation of state or country is equivalent to the rich man who is married to his 'trophy wife' who escorts him to parties and conventions and in some way or another compliments his character by hanging off of his arm and looking pretty. So much for the women's equality movement."
I could have stopped my search there but to honor my daughters request I had to do my due diligence. Which lead me to the Mrs. Idaho International Pageant system. This pageant was different than what I had come to expect. I didn't see "scholarship" as part of the prizes, but the judging criteria included a "platform" and there wasn't a swimsuit category, but fitness. I was intrigued, so I emailed the director.
The director was kind and helpful. She sent me information regarding the upcoming preteen competition, but I wasn't comfortable with the idea yet so hemmed and hawed and we ended up missing the event. Just as I had put the whole thing out of my mind I received an email invitation to a workshop the pageant was hosting at a hotel less than a mile away from our house. How could I pass it up?
Amanda and I attended the workshop as observers. Everyone greeted us warmly and we watched as the gals went through a "walking clinic". The girls, and women, were being taught how to stand and walk with poise and confidence. It reminded me of drill and ceremony from when I was in Basic Training. So far I was unimpressed, but I wasn't deterred yet either. After the walking clinic the director was going over the platform pages with the contestants. This was the part I was most curious about. I learned that the contestants platform was a charity that she, the contestant, chooses to support. The contestant creates a page that is presented to the judges that explains the charity and the contestant's involvement with the charity. As I listened to the director I realized that she was explaining really explaining was how to create a resume, or even in broader terms a business plan. This was a true underlying life lesson to be learned by participating in a pageant. Additionally they required their contestants to be involved in the community, and my barely 13 year old daughter didn't have to wear a swimsuit on stage. Maybe pageants aren't all "Toddlers and Tiaras" after all.
I signed Amanda up to compete in the 2010 Miss Teen Idaho International Pageant. Local titles are awarded to contestants on a first come first serve basis and she was selected as Teen Ada County 2010. She was so excited, the pride in her face was heart warming. Amanda chose Share Our Strength, the Great American Bake Sale (learn more at strength.org ), as her platform and had already scheduled a date for her bake sale. It was a lot of work putting it together but I was in this for the long haul to support my daughter. We weren't able to sell all of the bake goods so we decided to donate them to a local charity, the Boise Rescue Mission. Which led to another volunteer opportunity for Amanda. She chose the volunteer her time at the City of Light, a women and children's shelter. I was watching my daughter grow up in front of my very eyes!
The pageant encourages all of it's contestants to participate in community events, including parades. I think this has become Amanda's favorite part. Through these events I've had the opportunity to meet other pageant mom's. No one that I've met so far has presented themselves as an over bearing parent pushing their child to do something that they don't want to do. In fact the contestants appear to be more sorority sister than competitor's.
The least fun thing so far with pageants is sponsor hunting. The each contestant must purchase an ad page in the pageant program. To help pay for the ad page and other pageant expenses (application fee, clothing, hair, make-up, and etc) the contestants can opt to sell ad space on their page. We are an average family earning a modestly average wage, selling ad space was crucial for us. We visited several local businesses soliciting for support financially and for Amanda's platform as well. At first Amanda was extremely uncomfortable with talking to the business owners and I had to schedule days for us to go out and visit businesses, but by the end of the summer she was telling me we had to go sponsor hunting. We were able to garner enough support to pay for Amanda's interview outfit, evening gown, hair style and ad page fee.
The whole pageant experience was wonderful. The director truly cares about "her girls". She is former Mrs. Idaho International, Autumn Short. Autumn has been wonderful! She hasn't exactly held my hand through this whole process, but she has given me guidance. I was impress by the speech she gave the contestants about sportsmanship. She relayed how she participated in another pageant system that involved a lot of underhanded, back stabbing conduct (wardrobe sabotage and so forth). She informed the girls if anyone was caught behaving in such a manner, everyone would be disqualified and the winner would solely be based on interview scores. Hearing this relieved my fears: I was concerned about Amanda's well being because I could not be back stage with her. In fact, as it turned out Amanda was in excellent hands backstage. At the last minute we changed Amanda's evening gown. One of the producers knew that this was Amanda's first pageant so brought an evening gown with her that morning, just in case. The gown I bought for Amanda was pretty, but the dress being offered for the day was gorgeous! I was so overwhelmed by the generosity of these virtual strangers, that I had to fight back tears.
Amanda didn't make it into the top five, you could see the disappointment on her face, even from the back row of the theater. My heart broke for her and I began to doubt the value of letting her do this. When I first saw her after the pageant I could tell that she was deflated, but I was so proud of her and all she had accomplished because of the pageant: she learned how to present herself to a potential sponsor, she learned how to put together a resume (her platform page), she learned how to conduct herself in an interview, and she learned the importance of being involved in the community. In fact later that evening she was presented with the Community Service Award, for this years pageant, to me one of the most prestigious awards given by the pageant.
We've already submitted her application for the 2011 Miss Teen Idaho International pageant, and we are looking forward to everything in store for us this year. Oh, and to answer the question "Are beauty pageants obsolete?", No. No, they are not. When you find the right pageant system and maintain the right attitude they can be a truly rewarding experience. My daughter is not parading around on a stage just to be judged on her outer beauty. She is getting involved in her community, participating in school groups and team sports, making friendships that will last her a life time, and learning skills that will help her make a positive impression on any college admission board (or any job opportunity for that matter).
To learn more about the Idaho International Pageant system check out their blog http://idahopageants.blogspot.com or their website at www.mrsidaho.com
I started my google search. I found an article that confirmed all of my worst fears, pageants are all about exploiting our insecurities as women. The article by Timothy D Heard stated "A beauty pageant basically consists of a competition of physical appearances, the answering of a few intelligent questions of which the respondent has derived their answers from anyone but themselves, followed by a respectable show of talent, albeit minor. The winner of such pageants then goes on to attend certain state or national events and act as a pretty 'spokes-face' for, I shudder at the thought, minor political events. The use of such people for representation of state or country is equivalent to the rich man who is married to his 'trophy wife' who escorts him to parties and conventions and in some way or another compliments his character by hanging off of his arm and looking pretty. So much for the women's equality movement."
I could have stopped my search there but to honor my daughters request I had to do my due diligence. Which lead me to the Mrs. Idaho International Pageant system. This pageant was different than what I had come to expect. I didn't see "scholarship" as part of the prizes, but the judging criteria included a "platform" and there wasn't a swimsuit category, but fitness. I was intrigued, so I emailed the director.
The director was kind and helpful. She sent me information regarding the upcoming preteen competition, but I wasn't comfortable with the idea yet so hemmed and hawed and we ended up missing the event. Just as I had put the whole thing out of my mind I received an email invitation to a workshop the pageant was hosting at a hotel less than a mile away from our house. How could I pass it up?
Amanda and I attended the workshop as observers. Everyone greeted us warmly and we watched as the gals went through a "walking clinic". The girls, and women, were being taught how to stand and walk with poise and confidence. It reminded me of drill and ceremony from when I was in Basic Training. So far I was unimpressed, but I wasn't deterred yet either. After the walking clinic the director was going over the platform pages with the contestants. This was the part I was most curious about. I learned that the contestants platform was a charity that she, the contestant, chooses to support. The contestant creates a page that is presented to the judges that explains the charity and the contestant's involvement with the charity. As I listened to the director I realized that she was explaining really explaining was how to create a resume, or even in broader terms a business plan. This was a true underlying life lesson to be learned by participating in a pageant. Additionally they required their contestants to be involved in the community, and my barely 13 year old daughter didn't have to wear a swimsuit on stage. Maybe pageants aren't all "Toddlers and Tiaras" after all.
I signed Amanda up to compete in the 2010 Miss Teen Idaho International Pageant. Local titles are awarded to contestants on a first come first serve basis and she was selected as Teen Ada County 2010. She was so excited, the pride in her face was heart warming. Amanda chose Share Our Strength, the Great American Bake Sale (learn more at strength.org ), as her platform and had already scheduled a date for her bake sale. It was a lot of work putting it together but I was in this for the long haul to support my daughter. We weren't able to sell all of the bake goods so we decided to donate them to a local charity, the Boise Rescue Mission. Which led to another volunteer opportunity for Amanda. She chose the volunteer her time at the City of Light, a women and children's shelter. I was watching my daughter grow up in front of my very eyes!
The pageant encourages all of it's contestants to participate in community events, including parades. I think this has become Amanda's favorite part. Through these events I've had the opportunity to meet other pageant mom's. No one that I've met so far has presented themselves as an over bearing parent pushing their child to do something that they don't want to do. In fact the contestants appear to be more sorority sister than competitor's.
The least fun thing so far with pageants is sponsor hunting. The each contestant must purchase an ad page in the pageant program. To help pay for the ad page and other pageant expenses (application fee, clothing, hair, make-up, and etc) the contestants can opt to sell ad space on their page. We are an average family earning a modestly average wage, selling ad space was crucial for us. We visited several local businesses soliciting for support financially and for Amanda's platform as well. At first Amanda was extremely uncomfortable with talking to the business owners and I had to schedule days for us to go out and visit businesses, but by the end of the summer she was telling me we had to go sponsor hunting. We were able to garner enough support to pay for Amanda's interview outfit, evening gown, hair style and ad page fee.
The whole pageant experience was wonderful. The director truly cares about "her girls". She is former Mrs. Idaho International, Autumn Short. Autumn has been wonderful! She hasn't exactly held my hand through this whole process, but she has given me guidance. I was impress by the speech she gave the contestants about sportsmanship. She relayed how she participated in another pageant system that involved a lot of underhanded, back stabbing conduct (wardrobe sabotage and so forth). She informed the girls if anyone was caught behaving in such a manner, everyone would be disqualified and the winner would solely be based on interview scores. Hearing this relieved my fears: I was concerned about Amanda's well being because I could not be back stage with her. In fact, as it turned out Amanda was in excellent hands backstage. At the last minute we changed Amanda's evening gown. One of the producers knew that this was Amanda's first pageant so brought an evening gown with her that morning, just in case. The gown I bought for Amanda was pretty, but the dress being offered for the day was gorgeous! I was so overwhelmed by the generosity of these virtual strangers, that I had to fight back tears.
Amanda didn't make it into the top five, you could see the disappointment on her face, even from the back row of the theater. My heart broke for her and I began to doubt the value of letting her do this. When I first saw her after the pageant I could tell that she was deflated, but I was so proud of her and all she had accomplished because of the pageant: she learned how to present herself to a potential sponsor, she learned how to put together a resume (her platform page), she learned how to conduct herself in an interview, and she learned the importance of being involved in the community. In fact later that evening she was presented with the Community Service Award, for this years pageant, to me one of the most prestigious awards given by the pageant.
We've already submitted her application for the 2011 Miss Teen Idaho International pageant, and we are looking forward to everything in store for us this year. Oh, and to answer the question "Are beauty pageants obsolete?", No. No, they are not. When you find the right pageant system and maintain the right attitude they can be a truly rewarding experience. My daughter is not parading around on a stage just to be judged on her outer beauty. She is getting involved in her community, participating in school groups and team sports, making friendships that will last her a life time, and learning skills that will help her make a positive impression on any college admission board (or any job opportunity for that matter).
To learn more about the Idaho International Pageant system check out their blog http://idahopageants.blogspot.com or their website at www.mrsidaho.com
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