AI-generated beauty pageants have come onto the scene reshaping the beauty competition landscape. They are evolving the longstanding tradition and changing what it means to win a title.
“We want to have AI women that aren't physically perfect, that aren't flawless and have these impossible standards of beauty that nobody can hope to achieve,” said Sally-Ann Fawcett, a beauty pageant historian and author, while speaking on Connecticut Public’s Disrupted.
Fawcett is a judge for Miss AI Pageant, the world’s first beauty competition for AI creators. The organization hosted its first competition this year.
The competition was created as an opportunity to highlight the capabilities of artificial intelligence. The popularity of AI art exploded in 2022, with numerous creators experimenting with the technology. Generators such as DALL-E and Midjourney have made it easier than ever to create your own avatar.
AI models, whose social media accounts can rack up thousands of followers, have a responsibility, said Fawcett. She believes they should promote encouragement, support and inspiration to their audience.
While the standards for beauty are changing in the artificial world, in the real world, competitors are changing the way people view mental health.
“I remember the first time I was admitted into the mental hospital,” said Shavana Clarke, 2024 Miss Connecticut USA. “Once I came out [of the hospital], I was very much like, ‘so I was just in the mental hospital’ ... and I just straight up said that on my social media.”
Clarke, who participated in pageants since the age of two, runs Your Mental Health Bestie, a blog where she shares her personal journey with Borderline Personality Disorder. Clarke’s mission is to destigmatize the disorder, and how mental health issues are treated and seen in society.
“There is strength in saying ‘everything's not great right now. I need help, and there is this resource out there that is willing to help me.’”
Clarke also wants others to know that pageant constants aren’t one size fits all. “It's so easy to want to put someone in a box, especially on their outward appearance,” she said.
Today’s beauty pageants require contestants to impress judges with interviews, achievements and goals, rather than relying solely on appearance. Organizations have also broadened their rules, allowing older women, transgender women and mothers to compete.
“Pageants are evolving, and we are going to see a new level of what it means to be a queen,” Clarke said.
Connecticut Public's Khalilah Brown-Dean, Kevin Chang Barnum, and Wayne Edwards contributed to this report.
