The first international beauty contest in history: how the most beautiful girl in the world was chosen in the 19th century. First-ever beauty pageant held in Belgium Contests for married ladies

The first beauty contest took place in Ancient Greece: they forgot to invite the goddess of discord, Eris, to the wedding feast of Peleus and Thetis (Achilles later became their son), where the whole host of gods gathered, and the offended celestial, wanting to take revenge, threw a golden apple to the feasting with the inscription "Most Beautiful".

The calculation was correct - between Hera (patron of marriage), Athena (goddess of war, wisdom, knowledge and arts) and Aphrodite (goddess of beauty and love) a fierce dispute broke out for the right to own an apple.

They turned to Zeus, but he refused to be a judge and ordered Hermes (the god of trade, dexterity and swindle) to take the goddesses to the second son of the king of Troy, Paris, who must choose the most beautiful of the three. Each of them began to convince Paris to give the apple to her, promising the young man great rewards. Hera promised Paris power over all of Asia, Athena - military victories and glory. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite, who promised to reward him with the love of any woman he chose. At the same time, she described in enthusiastic terms Helen the Beautiful, the daughter of the Thunderer Zeus and Leda (daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius) and the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, and helped kidnap her. Then heroes gathered from all over Greece, who had once claimed the hand of Elena and were bound by an oath to always help the one whose wife she would become. Thus began the long-term bloody Trojan War ...

By and large, beauty contests in our time occur according to the same scenario.

The tribes of New Guinea may well pass for the pioneers of beauty pageants. In one of them, similar events have been held for many centuries. The competition lasted for a whole week. The beauties lifted weights, ran for time and distance, struggled with the elements of the sea, cooked for a whole tribe, etc. The ideal was a girl with long arms, wide hips and large breasts - for a safe birth and raising future offspring. As a prize, she received the best bridegroom of the tribe, but the title of the first beauty of the African tribe Yo-shio did not bring much joy. The most beautiful girl was fed to the lions.

Beauty is an abstract concept. Often it included not only external criteria, but also a set of specific skills and abilities. In ancient China, it was not enough for a beauty to be tiny, with tiny legs (the foot should not exceed 19 cm), graceful hands, luxurious hair and delicate skin. She still needed to know perfectly the process of cleansing the stomach.

In Russia, the main criteria for beauty were corpulence, good complexion and height. In France, grace, a thin waist, white, delicate skin were valued. In Germany, they loved that a woman "had something to grab onto." In general, there are many criteria for beauty. But for everyone to like a girl, she really must be special, as close as possible to the universal standard.

The question of the standard was decided for a long time. Recognized connoisseurs of female beauty suggested proceeding from the calculations of Leonardo da Vinci, who carefully calculated all the proportions, bringing thin ankles and delicate ovals of the abdomen to perfection. But still, they took the statue of Venus de Milo as a model. It was she who gave the world the coveted 90-60-90 (though with a height of only 161 cm!).

The first ever beauty pageant was held in Belgium in the fashionable spa resort on September 19, 1888. 21 contenders for the title of "beauty queen" took part in the final part, and the girls were selected according to the photographs sent to the jury. According to a reporter from one of the Scandinavian newspapers, who covered the results of those unusual competitions, “the competition was extremely modest. Its participants had to remain unknown to the general public, so they lived in a separate house, access to which was closed to outsiders, and they were delivered to competitions in a closed carriage. Moreover, all the men present at the competition were dressed in tailcoats, the women in long dresses. The winner was 18-year-old Creole from Guadeloupe, Berta Sucare, who received a prize of 5,000 francs.

Belgian initiative was picked up by other countries. In 1904, the first French beauty pageant was held. The organizers cut out a stencil of an ideal figure from a thin wooden sheet, and everyone could try their luck by fitting into the "standard standard". The competition was not successful, as it failed to attract rich sponsors. The second competition, which happened two years later, was won by an unknown Nicole Forizier, a singer in a small restaurant. Not immediately fitting into the "standard", the girl was not at a loss and pulled off her lush pantaloons. After that, the girls were ordered to appear at beauty contests in tight-fitting underwear, but bikini swimsuits were still very far away.

The history of beauty contests on the banks of the Rhine goes back over 90 years. The first competition of German beauties took place in the summer of 1909 in the Berlin cabaret "Promenade". The cigarette saleswoman from East Prussia, 19-year-old Gertrude, won the prize - as much as 20 Reichsmarks in gold! The jury awarded her not only the title of the most beautiful girl in Germany, but also the whole world. It was this "Miss Germany - Universe" that became a pioneer in the field of advertising: her photos appeared on postcards. True, this did not save Gertrude from poverty: at the end of her life, the former beauty had to sell artificial flowers on the street in order to somehow feed herself.

In 1918, the title of the first beauty of France was won by Irene Portanu, nee Batmanova, an emigrant from Russia. A scandal erupted around her name: they refused to recognize her as a Frenchwoman. Still, the prize fund of the competition was 20,000 francs, so many were ready to compete for the first place. Irina Batmanova did not get the money, but she got a job as a fashion model in the House of Gabrielle Chanel. Then this profession was just emerging. Over time, beauty contests have become regular suppliers of fashion models to the most famous fashion houses.

In general, beauty contests have become "the first step, springboard" for many famous actresses. In 1919, the very young Marlene Dietrich read about the Berlin beauty contest. "This is destiny!" - thought the student of the music academy, who dreamed of fame, and took a chance. If everything went well with the neck, chest and waist, then the hips did not want to meet the standard. The competition was almost won by Eva Fogg, who fit perfectly into the "wooden blocks", but was so terrible in face that it was impossible to call her a beauty.

Thus came the idea of ​​preliminary qualifying rounds, which weeded out "obvious wrong". Greta Garbo participated in a beauty pageant only once, in 1921, in Stockholm. She was persuaded by a friend at the drama school, Christina Chatonet. Greta considered Christina much prettier than herself and agreed to participate only to support her friend. But Christina was "weeded out" after the first round, and Greta took only second place, because she was "somewhat pale and anemic."

“They didn’t understand that this is what I attracted their attention and favor with,” Garbo recalled many years later. She learned from her success. And when makeup was needed for her role in the film "Queen Christina", Greta put a snow-white mask on her face, painted thin, but bright black eyebrows. As a result, the eyes looked like fuzzy spots, and the face turned out to be mysterious and unearthly. Garbo created an image of incredible fragility and insecurity. All the men were at her feet, and each tried to guess the secret of the mask. Young Sofia Shikolone, before becoming Sophia Loren, also participated in various beauty contests. Once the title of "Miss Naples" slipped right out from under her nose. The first two rounds were great for the debutante, she scored more points, but for the third round she needed a swimsuit, which was not there. While Sophia and her mother ran to the nearest store and chose a cheaper swimsuit, the competition came to an end. Out of breath, with disheveled hair and flushed cheeks, Sophia found herself on a podium knocked together from boards when the jury was already dispersing. The upset girl was given an incentive prize - she was enrolled in a theater studio (which determined her fate).

The very first "Miss America" ​​was chosen by a representative jury on September 8, 1921, when the premiere of American beauty pageants took place. The winner was 16-year-old Washington resident Margaret Gorman, daughter of an official from the Department of Agriculture. By the way, this was the world debut of a semi-naked body - for the first time in history, girls appeared in public in swimsuits. "Miss America" ​​was supposed to set an example of chastity. The winners during the contractual "advertising" year were not allowed to appear in hot places or at any events where alcohol is consumed. The way they looked after themselves was carefully monitored. Failure to comply with these rules was punishable by the termination of contracts and the selection of prizes. By the way, about prizes. Interestingly, among other awards due to the winners, there is a grant for studying at a college or university in the amount of up to 50 thousand dollars. Miss America is said to be the world's largest "scholarship provider for women."

Russian beauties were first chosen among emigrants: the election of "beauty queens" from among our compatriots was held since 1927 in Paris. The first to receive this title was 19-year-old Kira Sklyarova. In 1929, the jury, created by the editors of the Parisian magazine "Illustrated Russia", developed the conditions for the competition. The election of the "Russian beauty" was welcomed by Ivan Bunin, Konstantin Korovin, Alexander Kuprin, Sergei Rachmaninov, Fedor Chaliapin. By the way, in 1931 the title of "Miss Russia" was given to the daughter of the great singer - Marina.

At some point, it became clear that spontaneous competitions needed to be streamlined. And in 1947, the International Committee for the Selection of "Miss Europe" was born. The idea was simple: all countries could delegate their beauty chosen at the national competition for competitions at the European level. At the same time, they developed the basic selection rules, which allowed for a discrepancy with the standards of Venus. The main criteria were the correct proportional forms and naturalness. Girls were allowed only light makeup. Hair coloring and plastic surgery were not allowed. Naturally, on the basis of "naturalness" scandals immediately began to arise.

For example, in Holland, the jury members once thought that the light ash hair of the main contender Oolef Khabaar did not look very natural. Excited by the dispute, the girl tore off all her clothes and demonstrated the natural color of her hair. Some of the audience was indescribably delighted, while others felt offended. Full purses of money, vegetables, umbrellas, etc. flew into the girl. I had to urgently call law enforcement officers. Oolef not only did not become "Miss Holland", but also went to jail "for insulting with all her appearance." She did not sit long, only 6 hours. It took so much time for one of the jury members to make a bail for her and offer her hand and heart. So there is no bad without good. And since then, special protection has become mandatory at beauty contests. The next scandal took place in France, in the city of Pyla. There, the finalist was caught in ... silicone breasts! The secret was given out by the surgeon himself, who implanted the silicone (in retaliation for refusing to marry him). The jury treated the deceit strictly. The beauty was disqualified for life, forbidding her to participate in any competitions, and the doctor was sued for violating medical ethics.

The history of beauty pageants took on a new dimension and popularity with the advent of the "golden age" of TV. The Miss America Pageant was first broadcast live in 1954. The broadcast broke all records: it was watched by 39% of viewers - more than 27 million people.

The first international beauty contest - Miss World was held in 1951 in London: 30 contenders who appeared on stage in bikini swimsuits, which at that time were not yet known in England, made a splash. The victory in the Miss World contest went to the hot Swede Kiki Haakonson, along with 1000 pounds.

In the USSR, the first beauty contest was held in 1988. The Komsomol was involved in the organization of the Miss Moscow-88 review, but the sponsor was the Burda concern, whose magazines then only began to enter the Russian market. Tens of thousands of Muscovites came to the qualifying round. The victory was won by 16-year-old Masha Kalinina, who, after graduating from school, immigrated to the United States. The most "star" for Russian beauties was 2002, when Svetlana Koroleva became Miss Europe, and 24-year-old Oksana Fedorova won the title of Miss Universe 2002. A 24-year-old graduate student of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was able to bypass 74 of the most beautiful girls in the world.

Throughout the history of beauty contests, the attitude of society towards this action has not been unambiguous. In the 1970s and 80s, a wave of protest rose in the West against the exploitation of female beauty for profit by business tycoons. The scandals that flare up around these shows also contribute to the negative attitude towards beauty contests. Even the first German beauty, Gertrude, was accused of having won "by pull". In 1972, a scandal erupted around the Miss World pageant. It turned out that the representative jury is a fiction, and the fate of the crown is solely decided by the organizer of this spectacle, Eric Morley. Not so long ago, the Miss Universe election was accompanied by speculation about whether one of the participants changed her gender and, if so, how to deal with it.

In 1996 Miss Europe came to Albania. The beauty contest in this country was considered almost a national holiday. On the day of the coronation of "Miss" the streets of Tirana were empty: the townspeople clung to the TV screens. By the way, for the first time in the history of such competitions, the results of voting among Internet users were transmitted during a live TV broadcast. The title was won by Englishwoman Claire Mary Harrison.
A year later, the competition was again held in the former country of socialism - Ukraine. But almost a quarter of the applicants refused to participate, explaining this by uncertainty in personal safety, disgusting living conditions and terrible food. Western newspapers were full of headlines like "Beauties and Ukrainian Beasts", and the articles said that "...model girls from Northern Europe were forced to dance in a night casino."

But, despite the criticism and scandals, every year the most beautiful girl is chosen in almost all countries and on all continents.

The tribes of Australia and the Pacific Islands until the 20th century held competitions: unmarried outwardly attractive girls competed naked. The “first guy in the village” married the winner. In Uganda, beauty contests were held, and no one especially looked at the face. They chose the owner of the most beautiful priests. Some winners really had such weighty advantages that they could not get up without outside help.

In Russia, for a long time, the tsar's wife was elected as a result of a competition, to which they were obliged to bring girls of all families from all over the state. At the same time, position and prosperity did not matter - only beauty and health.

The most prestigious international beauty contests of our time

Miss World (since 1951)
Miss Universe (since 1952)
Miss International (since 1960)
Miss Supranational (since 2009)
Miss Grand International (since 2013)

Miss Earth (since 2001)
Miss Intercontinental (since 1971)
Top Model of the World (since 1993)

Regional competitions

Miss Europe (from 1928 to 2006 and since 2016)
Miss Asia (from 1968 to 2005 and since 2011)
The most beautiful Italian woman in the world (Miss Italia nel Mondo) (since 1991)
Spanish American Beauty Queen (since 1991)

Contests for married ladies

Mrs. World (since 1985)
Mrs Globe (since 1996)
Mrs. Universe (since 2007)
Mrs. Top International (since 2018)

In Belgium, on September 19, 1888, the first ever beauty pageant was held. 21 contenders for the title of “beauty queen” took part in the final part, and the girls were selected for the final according to the photographs sent to the jury.

According to a reporter from one of the Scandinavian newspapers, who covered the results of those unusual competitions, “the competition was extremely modest. The contestants had to remain unknown to the general public, so they lived in a separate house, access to which was closed to outsiders, and they were delivered to the competitions in a closed carriage. All the men present at the competition were dressed in tailcoats, the women in long dresses.

The winner was 18-year-old Creole from Guadeloupe, Berta Sucare, who received a prize of 5,000 francs. The first world beauty contests were held in 1951 in London, where Miss Universe and Miss World were crowned. Thirty applicants who appeared on the stage in bikini swimsuits, which were not yet known in England at that time, made a splash.

In the USSR, the first beauty contest took place 100 years after the first contest - in 1988. The Komsomol was involved in the organization of the Miss Moscow-88 show, the sponsor was the Burda concern, whose magazines had just begun to enter the Russian market. Tens of thousands of Muscovites came to the qualifying round. The victory was won by 16-year-old Masha Kalinina. After this review, beauty contests in our country have become quite frequent and today it is a whole industry.

The first "beauty contest" is called the mythical competition of the three goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. They chose Paris as a judge, who gave the main prize - an apple and the title of the Most Beautiful - Aphrodite. Evidence has been preserved that in ancient Troy they chose the most beautiful girl in Ilion. The jury included singers, sculptors, orators and warriors.

The oldest documented beauty contests took place in Corinth in the 5th century BC, ruled by Kipelis, who established a festival in honor of the goddess of the earth. The most worthy contender was named the bearer of gold. The Greeks liked the undertaking, such competitions were held in the city of Athens, and then constantly and everywhere. Competitions were especially popular on the island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea.

In ancient Babylon, after a beauty contest, the winner was not only awarded the title of beautiful, she was assigned a price: the girl's name was shouted out, and the men shouted out the price. It was for this money, appointed as a result of the competition, that it was possible to subsequently buy this girl from the family in order to marry her.

In ancient China, as well as among the Incas and the Malays, special rules for choosing a beauty were created. Having chosen the winner, she was sacrificed in a solemn atmosphere to a bloody deity or spirit. Despite the harsh Islamic customs, in the harems of the Ottoman Empire they had fun choosing the most beautiful odalisque.

Surely, every young girl at least once in her life dreamed of becoming a beauty queen. Contests Miss University, Miss City, Mrs City Library, etc. are held just so that as many beauties as possible have a chance to express themselves.

There are, however, competitions that are far from easy to enter. To participate, you need a solid participation experience, really outstanding external data, endurance and other talents. And let them say that everything is bought, the most prestigious beauty pageants do not lose their popularity over the years.

10. Mrs. World

This international beauty pageant has been organized for married women since 1985. In 2006, the Russian ballet dancer and actress Sofya Arzhakovskaya became the winner. The final of the next competition will be held in May 2014 in Bulgaria.

9. Mr. International

Beauty pageants aren't just for women. The most prestigious among men's competitions is Mister International, which has been held since 2006. There were no winners among the Russians, but this year Maxim Sorochinsky from Yakutsk participated in the final of the competition.

8. Miss Granny Brazil

The main condition for participation in the competition is the presence of grandchildren. Participants are typically between 40 and 60 years of age. The competition is famous for the extremely revealing bathing suits in which the beauties perform.

7. Beauty of Russia

This competition is traditionally widely covered not only by Russian, but also by foreign media. The winner of the Beauty of Russia annually represents our country at the Miss Earth contest. The age of participants varies from 14 to 25 years.

6. Miss National Prestige

The annual French national beauty pageant, which has been held since 2010. The competition is a qualifying stage for the more prestigious Miss International.

5. Miss America

One of the most famous beauty pageants. The first Miss America pageant took place in 1921. In 1951, winner Yolanda Betbese refused to pose in a swimsuit, allowing the competition to become more intellectual. In 1995, the deaf-mute Heather Whitestone became the winner. Many winners are active in charitable activities.

4. Miss International

The fourth largest international beauty pageant was first held in 1960. The competition is traditionally held in Japan and China. Russian women have never won the title of Miss International in the history of the event.

3. Miss Earth

Among international competitions, Miss Earth leads in terms of the number of participants. The last 6 years the competition has been held in the Philippines. In 2012, at the Miss Earth finals, a scandal broke out related to the Russian woman Natalia Pereverzeva. In her speech to the jury, Natalya called Russia a corrupt and impoverished country, which, however, cannot be disliked.

2. Miss World

An annual international competition that has been held since 1951. The broadcast of the final of the competition is watched on TV in more than 200 countries around the world. Because the founders of the contest come from the UK, the winner of Miss World traditionally lives in London for a year. Among the Russians, the winners of the competition were Yulia Kurochkina and Ksenia Sukhinova.

1. Miss Universe

The most prestigious beauty pageant was established in 1952. Every year the competition takes place in a new country - this year it was hosted by Moscow. Among Russians, only Oksana Fedorova, who won the contest in 2002 and refused the crown, received the title of Miss Universe.

The wind of change, along with perestroika, brought Western values, trends, know-how, fashion trends to the Soviet Union. The most striking, spectacular, colorful event of this historical period in the USSR is the first beauty contest Miss Moscow Beauty.

History of the first beauty contest in the USSR

Initially, the women's competition was called Moscow Beauty-88, but it quickly became clear that the event would not be limited to the capital, surrounding districts and regions. On the day announced by the newspapers, a multi-kilometer queue of the fair sex gathered near the administration building of Gorky Park, where the selection was taking place. Unheard of excitement forced the organizers to expand the geography, renaming the event into an open competition Miss Moscow-88.

Miss Moscow beauty 1988 winner

The photographs show the contestants at the submission of applications, at fashion show training, the locker room, the gym, on stage, and other places - funny, spicy, naive, touching episodes of a historical event. Also in the photo is the main winner - 16-year-old schoolgirl Masha Kalinina, who literally woke up famous. First, the beauty was presented with a Temp TV and a crown, and then tempting offers from fashion magazines, fashion houses, and rich suitors rained down on the winner. The champion chose a contract with Burda Moden, moved to Germany, eventually ended up in the USA, where she tried to build a career as an actress. Maria Kalinina starred a lot, but only in episodes, which forced the Russian-American lady to change her profession. Now US citizen Maria Kalinin lives in Los Angeles, where she opened her own yoga school.

Photos from the competition

Masha Kalinina - winner of Miss Moscow beauty 1988

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September 19, 1888 in the Belgian resort town of Spa took place the first ever international beauty pageant. 350 participants claimed the title of the most beautiful girl in the world, 21 of which reached the final. And the ideas about beauty, and the principles of selection, and the rules for holding a competition in the 19th century differed significantly from modern standards.