X-ray, plumb line and scales: how to choose "Miss correct posture" in the 50s

What kind of beauty contests were not held in the USA in the last century! Every small brand, even if it produced sausage, even mattresses, considered it necessary to gather local beauties so that they would compete and find out who is more beautiful. After all, pretty girls are a great marketing tool.

Source: Vintag

It all started with the All-American Congress of Chiropractors in 1956. Then experts from all over the country gathered in Chicago, where the first contest "Miss Correct posture" was held.

At that time, chiropractors were exotic newcomers in the American healthcare sector: such specialization had just begun to appear in the USA, in the 50s they even worked without licenses. Therefore, holding such a competition has become a good PR move and a way to introduce the public to a new kind of specialists.

In the first competition, the winner was 18-year-old Lois Conway. The second place was taken by 16-year—old Marianne Kaba, and the third - 26-year-old Ruth Swanson.

The contestants were selected not only in terms of overall attractiveness and charisma — a completely healthy spine was a prerequisite.

To determine how evenly the weight is distributed, the girls were weighed on two scales.

It could not do without an X-ray. In those days, no one was afraid of radiation.

Such beauty contests were massive in the 50s and 60s. But when the chiropractors received the recognition of official medicine, the number of such competitions gradually came to naught. The last large-scale Miss Correct Posture contest was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1969.