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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts ENGENDERING THE PAGEANT: RHETORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP THROUGH DRAMA AND CONTEST, 1900-PRESENT A Dissertation in Communication Arts and Sciences by Mia E. Briceño © 2012 Mia E. Briceño Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2012 The dissertation of Mia E. Briceño was reviewed and approved* by the following: Rosa A. Eberly Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and English Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Thomas W. Benson Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Rhetoric Stephen H. Browne Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences Susan M. Squier Julia Gregg Brill Professor of Women’s Studies, English, and STS (Science, Technology, and Society) Kirtley H. Wilson Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences Graduate Officer for the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT This study explores the tradition of pageantry in the United States, focusing on the pageant as an explicitly gendered cultural practice and the rhetorical relationships between that practice and U.S. citizenship. In spite of its reputation as a feminized, low culture artifact, the pageant is a consistently maintained rhetorical practice that continues to be performed in and among diverse publics. Pageantry is thus implicated in political discourses of model democratic citizenship. I explore pageantry’s symbolic influence in U.S. culture and politics in five case studies. These cases are arranged somewhat chronologically, reflecting a kind of rhetorical history of the pageant in the United States. I begin with Progressive Era historical pageantry, and next move on to better babies contests held at state fairs in the early twentieth century. From there, I transition to analyses of competitive child and female pageantry in the late twentieth and early twenty- first centuries. Finally, I close with an examination of contemporary female impersonation pageants, or drag pageants. The guiding question in this project is: What can be said of the rhetoric of pageantry, and what implications does that rhetoric have for feminist – but not necessarily female – subjectivity and citizenship in contemporary U.S. culture? I argue that discourses of pageantry and pageant performances themselves exhibit transgressive potential, yet they simultaneously continue to shape and to be shaped by hegemonic notions of nationalism and homogenous ideals of U.S. citizenship. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.........................................................................................vi Chapter One: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................1 Oh, the Pageantry! ................................................................................................1 Rhetoric, Rhetorical History, and the Pageant......................................................10 The Rhetorical and Public Nature of Pageantry ...................................................15 Previewing the Pageant Project: Chapter Abstracts .............................................15 Chapter Two: SETTING A SYMBOLIC STAGE: THE PAGEANT “CRAZE” OF THE EARLY 1900s AND COLLECTIVE U.S. IDENTITY..........................41 Pageants Other than Beauty..................................................................................41 Identity on Stage: Pageant Lineage in the United States......................................45 Constituting Communal Character: Structure and Identity in Mainstream Historical Pageantry ......................................................................................50 Revisionist Historical Pageantry...........................................................................61 The Black Pageant is the Thing............................................................................64 Pageant the Vote...................................................................................................74 Historical Resonances and Pageantry’s Rhetorical Scope....................................83 Chapter Three: BEFORE TODDLERS & TIARAS: BETTER BABIES CONTESTS AND THE IDEAL PAGEANT SUBJECT .....................................99 Partners in Pageantry ............................................................................................99 Contemporary Views on Pageantry and Eugenics ...............................................102 Eugenics’ Histories...............................................................................................107 Pageants’ Histories ...............................................................................................112 Better Babies Contests: The Nexus of Pageantry and Eugenics...........................117 Better Black Babies ..............................................................................................126 Better Girls vs. Better Boys..................................................................................128 A Profession Which Requires Training: Republican Motherhood and Female Citizenship.....................................................................................................129 Better Babies, Better Pageants, Better Citizens....................................................133 Chapter Four: PAGEANCY: PAGEANT STRUCTURE, AGENCY, AND POWER ................................................................................................................151 Pageant Structure, Rhetoric, and Subjectivity ......................................................151 What’s Form Got to Do With It?..........................................................................155 Miss America: Structure and Contestant Subjectivity..........................................161 Pageancy: Age, Gender, and Other Elements of Pageant Agency .......................169 v The Construction of Childhood in Western Culture.............................................174 The “Reality” of Child Pageants and Implications for Pageancy.........................179 The Right to Bare Arms: Pageancy and Democracy............................................189 Chapter Five: LOVING TO HATE THE ANTI-MODEL: PAGEANT SCANDALS AND CONTROVERSIES..............................................................208 The Scandalous Nature of Pageantry....................................................................208 From Bioterrorism to Big Boobs: Scandal and Controversy in Pageantry...........216 The Pageantry is Political: Where Scandal and Controversy Meet......................225 Pageant Interviews and Controversial Citizenship...............................................231 Are We Past the “World Peace” Joke?: Taking Pageant Questions and Answers Seriously.........................................................................................252 Conclusion: ALTERNA-PAGEANTS, ANTI-MODELS, AND POSSIBILITIES FOR FEMINIST CITIZENSHIP..........................................................................270 Troubling Contests: Pageant Counterpublics and Alterna-Pageants....................270 Postmodern Masques: The Impersonation Pageant as the Model Anti-Model ....278 Miss Gay America is No Lady: A Rhetoric of Pageant Authenticity and Masculinity....................................................................................................287 From Pageant Histories to Pageant Futures: Pageantry’s Rhetorical Implications for Feminist Citizenship ...........................................................295 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................312 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS One may research and write a dissertation on her own, but it is the interest and support of teachers, colleagues, and loved ones that sustains her and helps her see the project through to its end. I must first express my deepest appreciation for all the effort that my advisor, Dr. Rosa A. Eberly, has put into this project. Dr. Eberly read my dissertation closely and carefully through several revisions, and she challenged me to write more clearly and thoughtfully with each round of feedback. She demonstrated a sincere investment in my project and coached me through moments of struggle. She also corrected my persistent ellipsis errors, which was no small feat. I owe Dr. Eberly many thanks for her help and guidance, not only during the writing of this dissertation, but also throughout the course of my doctoral training. In addition to my advisor, all of my committee members have had a significant influence on my growth as both a researcher and a student of rhetoric and gender studies. My interest in historical pageantry was inspired by Dr. Stephen H. Browne’s historic public address seminar in Spring 2008. The focus on better babies contests grew out of Dr. Susan M. Squier’s gender and reproduction seminar in Spring 2009. Lastly, my drive to do responsible rhetorical criticism and to cultivate good scholarly habits is inspired by my experiences in Dr. Thomas W. Benson’s rhetorical criticism and rhetorical criticism of film seminars, as well as the example he sets in his own work. Understanding friends and colleagues have greatly enriched my time in graduate school. Una Kimokeo-Goes, Ersula Ore, Adam Perry, Andy High, Mary High, Tara vii Traeder, Judy Battaglia, and Roxanne Bañuelos – thank you for being wonderful friends and for often providing me with welcome