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- Title
Cultural and Cosmopolitan: Idealized Femininity and Embodied Nationalism in Nigerian Beauty Pageants.
- Authors
Balogun, Oluwakemi M.
- Abstract
This article uses a comparative-case research design of two different national beauty pageants in Nigeria to ask how and why gendered nationalisms are constructed for different audiences and aims. Both contests claim to represent “true Nigerian womanhood” yet craft separate models of idealized femininity and present different nationalist agendas. I argue that these differences stem from two distinct representations of gendered national identities. The first pageant, “Queen Nigeria,” whose winners do not compete outside of Nigeria, brands itself as a Nigerian-based pageant, centered on a cultural-nationalist ideal, which is focused on revitalizing and appreciating Nigerian culture to unify the nation. In contrast, the second contest, “The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria,” utilizes “international standards” to select and send contestants to Miss World and Miss Universe, the top pageants in the world, and promotes a cosmopolitan-nationalist ideal, which remains concentrated on propelling and integrating Nigeria into the international arena.
- Subjects
NIGERIA; BEAUTY contests -- Social aspects; WOMEN; FEMININITY -- Social aspects; NATIONALISM; GENDER roles &; society; PERSONAL beauty -- Social aspects; AESTHETICS -- Social aspects; CULTURE &; globalization; NATIONALISM &; culture
- Publication
Gender & Society, 2012, Vol 26, Issue 3, p357
- ISSN
0891-2432
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1177/0891243212438958