The "Most Badass" Miss America
Yolande Betbeze was ahead of her time...
Did you watch beauty pageants when you were a kid?
I haven’t seen one in decades, but I remember watching them with my sister when we were really young.
Though they occasionally had a message about scholarship and careers, most of the screen time was dedicated to beautiful young women parading around the stage in ball gowns and bathing suits.
But as I was looking up something about the origin of the Miss USA pageant (which was my fave), I stumbled upon an article about the “most badass Miss America,” Yolande Betbeze.
“Badass” is not a word I would naturally associate with Miss America…so what did Yolande Betbeze do to earn this label?
I was curious…
Yolande Betbeze’s reign as Miss America began on September 9, 1950.
A beautiful, convent-educated 21-year-old, Yolande was the first Miss America to hail from Alabama, and the first to be crowned wearing an evening gown — not a bathing suit.
Although “not into pageants” Yolande had dreams of being an opera singer, and entered the Miss Alabama competition hoping to win a scholarship so she could study music in New York.
Women had few ways to fulfil their dreams back then, and Yolande saw the pageant as a way “out of the South.”
She won the title of Miss Alabama, but when she made her way to the national pageant in Atlantic City, the trouble began.
Yolande found the other contestants intellectually wanting – and especially cutthroat.
One wrote ‘Hairy sits here’ in lipstick on Yolande’s mirror, referring to her thick eyebrows.
But Yolande won the pageant — and became a different kind of Miss America.
“There was nothing but trouble from the minute that crown touched my head,” she said in an interview with the Washington Post in 1969.
Before she entered the contest, Yolande had omitted to sign a contract that required the winner to model swimsuits made by the pageant’s chief sponsor, Catalina.
Yolande had won the pageant’s swimsuit competition, and Catalina expected her to model their bathing suits in her appearances as Miss America.
But Yolande had different ideas.
“I’m an opera singer, not a pinup!”
She refused to pose in a bathing suit again.
“It got on the front page of every newspaper in the world. It was unheard of to have a beauty queen refuse to pose in a bathing suit,” she said.
Catalina was furious.
Yolande recalled meeting a man representing Catalina who “stood up and fumed.”
“He said, ‘I’ll run you off the news pages. I’ll start my own contest. You’ll see.’”
“I said, ‘That’s splendid. Good luck to you.’”
Catalina did withdraw their sponsorship from the Miss America pageant – and began the rival ‘Miss USA’ pageant, too.
Despite the drama with Catalina, Yolande reigned as Miss America in 1951, making public appearances throughout the year — and earning $30,000.
She went on to study philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York after her reign, and later married Matthew Fox, a wealthy movie executive.
Yolande became a fixture on the social scene, and formed tight friendships with movie stars like Marlene Dietrich and Elizabeth Taylor.
She never made a career as an opera singer, but did use her platform to highlight social issues – including civil rights and women’s rights – making her unpopular with the Miss America organizers.
In 1953, she participated in a vigil at Sing Sing prison to protest the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
In the 1960s, she joined civil rights protesters picketing a Woolworth’s in New York’s Times Square to support black sit-ins at the store’s lunch counters in the South.
She also criticized the Miss America pageant for its lack of ethnic and racial diversity – and for perpetuating sexist attitudes.
“I’m a Southern girl,” she said, “but a thinking girl.”
“How could we say it’s Miss America if it’s not open to all Americans?”
In 1970, Miss America had its first Black contestant, and in 1983, its first Black winner with Vanessa Williams.
“I spoke out against the pageant when it was needed,” Yolande said in 2000.
“The pageant has changed, thanks to me.”
Yolande once told a reporter she hoped to write a memoir, but was delaying out of tact.
“There’s still too many people who aren’t dead yet,” she said.
Sadly, Yolande never wrote that memoir.
She died of lung cancer in 2016. She was 87 years old.
Yolande’s daughter, Dolly Fox, said she wanted her mother to be remembered for her incredible intelligence — and for fearlessly speaking out for what she believed in.
“I want her to be remembered for being before her time, being an educated, loving, generous person.”
“She always stood up for the underdog.”
One more thing…
Though the Miss America Organization considered ending the swimsuit competition from their pageant as early as 1995, it wasn’t until 2018 that they announced they were ending the Swimsuit Competition.
Contestants are now judged on physical fitness while modeling “activewear.”
And the talent competition (which was part of the pageant since 1938) is now optional, too.
But if you want the Miss USA crown, you’ll still be judged in a swimsuit.
But perhaps the most interesting outfits happen at The Miss Universe Pageant…
Get Curious about…International Women’s Day
You should be receiving this on March 8 — aka International Women’s Day!
And in case you missed it last week, here’s a reminder that the United Nations theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”
You might see another unofficial IWD campaign asking you to “inspire inclusion” by making a love heart with your hands.
Curious Minds suggests saving that pose for the Taylor Swift concerts!
In case you’re wondering what I’m talking about, check out this piece I wrote last year after I saw the same outfit telling us to “embrace equity” by hugging ourselves.
Recent Work and Writing
Here’s what else I’ve been thinking about lately…
What’s Holding Women Back? — Is it women’s mindsets that hold them back? Or something else? I investigate…
Enough of the Ghosting — It may be more common these days, but that doesn’t mean it’s OK.
Communication Wonders & Blunders — Find out which communication moments from CEOs, politicians, entertainers, and companies caught my attention in January — and what we can learn from them.
And stay tuned for February’s high and low moments.
How Can I Help?
I’ll keep saying it: Communication matters.
If you want to improve your communication (and get all the good things that come with that), I’m your gal.
So many companies could reap massive rewards – from performance and culture to retention and engagement – by improving their communication.
So, if you know someone who could benefit from some help (as even the most seasoned leaders do), please get in touch and check out my website for more information.
You can also see my Top 10 list of what I can (and can’t) do for you here.
And if you see any communication examples (the good, the bad, and the ugly) that you think are worth analyzing or sharing, please send them my way!
Stay Curious!
-Beth
Just leaving this here for you - https://todayinottawashistory.wordpress.com/2022/07/16/miss-civil-service/
I love beauty contests, I can’t help myself!