Developing a Communication Research Project

Running head: DEVELOPING A COMMUNICATION RESEARCH PROJECT
DEVELOPING A COMMUNICATION RESEARCH PROJECT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

DEVELOPING A COMMUNICATION RESEARCH PROJECT1
Introduction
The main aim of this essay will be to discuss about the beauty pageants or beauty
contests throughout the world. The focus will be on fashion, YouTube and the other social
media platforms as the influencer, and to find out the gap in those beauty pageants or beauty
contests held globally in the context of the above said topics. A beauty pageant or beauty
contest can be termed as a competition that has aimed on judgment and providing ranks on
the physical attributes or qualities of the contestants taking part on those competitions. The
modern beauty pageants also focus on the talent, intelligence, personality traits and answers
to the questions asked by the judges of those contests as the criteria required for judging the
contestants. The term beauty pageant mainly involves the contests involving women, for
example the Big Four international beauty pageants – Miss Earth, Miss World, Miss
International and Miss Universe. Different kind of rules and regulations are involved in these
contests, like the age of the contestants. They are usually multi-tiered, where the contestants
are find out from the local competitions held in different countries around the world. The
winner of these beauty contestants are usually called as beauty queen and the rankings
provided inn these contests are known as placements (Cohen 2015).
Literature Review
Fashion
Fashion can be termed as an aesthetic expression that is popular in a certain period of
time and context. It is related to clothes, shoes, lifestyle, makeup, hairstyle, accessories and
body proportions. Fashion is different from trend as trend is something that lasts for a shorter
span of time. Style is something that lasts for a longer period of time such as class, culture,
symbols etc. though the term fashion is related to costumes and clothes, both are different
from each other (Banet-Weiser 2013). Clothes refer the material or garments technically,

DEVELOPING A COMMUNICATION RESEARCH PROJECT2
while costumes refer to special senses like masquerade wear or fancy dress. Several global
brands want themselves to be labelled as haute couture. Sustainability has become a major
issue with increasing production of commodities at lower prices for consumers, brands and
politicians. The global fashion industry is a product of the modern society. Before the 19th
century, the clothes were basically custom-made (Besse 2014). Generally, it was like in a
form of order from tailors or dressmakers. With the advancement of technology and the
invention of the sewing machine, there has been a rise of global capitalism including the
development of factory production system. Departmental stores and retail outlets also came
into existence. Moving into detail, a beauty pageant is different from a fashion show. In a
fashion show, a fashion designer portrays his or her latest collections. Whereas in a beauty
pageant, female or male contestants are in a competition with each other. Here the main
competition remains based on beauty though the aspects of talent, intelligence and
personality is of equal importance. Therefore, fashion plays a vital role in case of such
competitions. The participants must be well aware of the latest trends and fashion. The
fashion should also be in accordance with the target market, whether men or women. Since it
is the case of a beauty pageant, the fashion must bring about the class, elegance of the
contestants and must be clear and comfortable. They must feel confident enough to carry
themselves in the dresses, accessories or footwear they are wearing. Self-pride brings about
self-esteem. In some beauty pageants it is necessary to represent one’s background, cultures
and community (Tice 2016). The contestants are generally very selective over what kind of
gowns they will wear because it is an anticipated segment of the competition. The judges and
even the audiences expect the participants to wear something that represents his or her
community and tradition. Though cultural fashions are more on focus in case of ethnic based
pageants, presenting one’s own culture in the forefront becomes a stylish asset. Just like
many other global industries, fashion has many drawbacks as well. The garment workers are