Miss America

Published: Nov. 2, 2020, 7 p.m.

b'Miss America Meets Feminism
Guest:\\xa0Margot Mifflin,\\xa0Professor of English\\xa0at the City University of New York, and author of "Looking for Miss America: A Pageant\\u2019s 100-Year Quest to Define Womanhood"
Margot Mifflin describes Miss America as an organization that is \\u201cin constant dialogue with feminism, though rarely in step with it.\\u201d The beauty pageant that began in 1921 has survived second-wave feminism and the #metoo movement, but it\\u2019s seen some\\xa0dramatic\\xa0changes and challenges. It\'s so close to its 100th anniversary . . .\\xa0 Will it make it?\\xa0
You can find more of Margot Mifflin\'s publications here.
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The Debutante Tradition Thrives\\xa0
Guest: Kristen Richardson, author of "The Season: A Social History of the Debutante"
Debutante culture emerged when Henry VIII split from the Catholic church, and the nobility could no longer send their "excess" daughters to convents. The practice seems antiquated today, but the tradition of debutante balls is alive and well (or it was before the pandemic). What\'s the point when young women have so many options for career and marriage partners? The answer involves geopolitics, business, and personal ambition.'