How to choose the most desirable girls in the Universe

The Miss Universe contest is already 63 years old, and it is able to tell a lot about how ideas about female beauty have changed over the years. Recently, the British resource Superdrug Online Doctor decided to investigate the evolution of the physique of the winners of "Miss Universe" since the beginning of the history of the contest in 1952. To do this, he collected all publicly available information about the height and weight of the contestants and their photos and compared the data with the average height and weight of American women aged 20 to 29 years.

The company chose the Miss Universe contest for research due to the fact that it has been held for a long time and many countries participate in it. The results showed that while average American women were getting fatter, Miss Universe was only getting slimmer and taller. In recent years, the discussion of the perception of one's own body has intensified and important debates have arisen about how unrealistic the current standards of beauty are.

(29 photos in total)

Source: Business Insider

The history of Miss Universe began in 1952. The winner of the Miss America contest refused to wear clothes of the Californian brand Pacific Knitting Mills, and the manufacturer decided to take a marketing move. Then only 30 girls competed for the crown.

At first, the contest was held jointly with Miss USA (not to be confused with Miss America). Television broadcasts began only in 1955. The photo shows several participants of the 1956 contest in a clothing store during a tour in swimsuits.

In those years, "Miss USA", in fact, was the preliminary stage of the Miss Universe contest. The photo shows the winner of Miss USA 1957, Leona Gage (center), who lost to Gladys Sender from Peru at the Miss Universe pageant.

In 1959, Japanese Akiko Kojima became the new "Miss Universe". With her height of 167.6 cm, she was one of the lowest contestants, but still 5 cm taller than the average American.

In 1960, an interview tour was added to the competition. The photo shows the moment of the 1960 contest, where the participants are dressed in national costumes. This has become one of the main features of Miss Universe.

In 1965, the pageant separated from Miss USA. In addition, the semi-finalists began to be announced on the same evening when the main event took place. The lucky girls then competed, defiling in evening dresses and swimwear. By the way, on the right in the photo is Mohammed Ali.

From the 1970s to the 1990s, the competition lasted more than a month, including rehearsals and qualifying rounds. In the photo, the contestants of 1971 are waiting for the beginning of the fashion show.

All the girls in the first years of the competition had typical beauty and slimness, but in the 1970s the growth of the participants began to increase. The height of the 1974 winner, the Spaniard Amparo Munoz, was 172.7 cm.

The way the competition was in the 1960s and 1970s determined its future appearance. In the photo, host Bob Barker announces Rina Messinger from Israel as the winner of Miss Universe 1976.

The finalists always stood on stage together when the winner was announced. In 1978, she became "Miss South Africa" Margaret Gardiner, who stands on the right.

The 1980s brought a new type of beauty with a healthy, athletic physique. This year, Shawn Weatherly (pictured on the left) won Miss USA.

In 1983, the hair became more magnificent, and the dresses became more fashionable. In the photo — "Miss New Zealand" Loraine Downs, her height is more than 172 cm.

Most of the contest winners in the 1980s weighed less than 54.5 kg, while the average American woman weighed 59-63.5 kg.

In the 1990s, the stakes became really high, especially in terms of fashion shows in swimwear. In the photo, the participants of the Miss Universe 1996 in the qualifying round recreate the atmosphere of the popular series "Rescuers of Malibu". Meanwhile, the average weight of American girls exceeded 64 kg.

Miss Venezuela Alicia Machado (left) became Miss Universe in 1996.

In 1996, Donald Trump bought part of the organizing company of the contest. In the photo, he poses with the participants of the Miss Universe 1998.

In 1998, the contest was won by "Miss Trinidad and Tobago" Wendy Fitzwilliam. Her height was 182.9 cm, as much as 20.3 cm more than the average American girl.

In 2000, the interview tour was removed from the competition and only the fashion show in swimwear and evening dresses was left. The photo shows the finalists of 2001. Then the winner was "Miss Puerto Rico" Denise Quinones (center).

Although going out in national costumes does not belong to the competitive part of the competition, since its establishment it has become much brighter and more spectacular. In the photo — "Miss Honduras" Erica Liset Ramirez in 2002.

But some points remained unchanged: "Miss Universe" is primarily a demonstration of girls in swimsuits. If you don't believe me, ask these contestants of 2004.

The scenery and performances have only become more complicated and grandiose. In the photo, the participants of the 2004 contest dance during the performance on stage.

And why not combine dancing and swimwear? So they did in 2008. By that time, the average American girl weighed more than 72.6 kg.

Although the organizers of the contest claim that the winners must have intelligence and charm to cope with the requirements for their title, including charity work and a large number of trips, a former member of the Miss Universe jury told Forbes magazine in 2011 that the winner is chosen solely on the basis of her external data.

At the competition, the most important thing is to be beautiful, slim and tall. In the photo — "Miss Mexico" Jimena Navarrete, who won in 2010.

The winners are also quite young. "Miss Angola" Leila Lopez, crowned in 2011 at the age of 25, became one of the oldest winners in history. Only American Brooke Lee, who won the Miss Universe title in 1997 at the age of 26, is older than her.

The average age of Miss Universe is 20.4 years, but the contestants can be from 18 to 27 years old. In the photo — the winner of 2012, "Miss USA" Olivia Culpo (second from left), who was 20 years old at the time.

In 2015, Donald Trump completely bought out the Miss Universe organization and sold it when a scandal broke out over his statements about illegal migrants from Mexico. In the photo — Trump with Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler from Venezuela.

All this did not affect the contest itself in any way. In the photo — 22-year-old "Miss Colombia" Paulina Vega with a height of 175.3 cm, who won in 2014.

In 2015, there was an embarrassment at Miss Universe: host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced that the winner was "Miss Colombia" Ariadna Gutierrez, while the winner was actually "Miss Philippines" Pia Alonso Wurtzbach. Some believe that the presenter's mistake was actually a PR stunt.