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Deafness, along with most forms of disability, has formed its own subculture in our society. That subculture includes all types of media, businesses that cater specifically to the deaf, even a pageant that showcases deaf women. With more than 30 contestants, the Miss Deaf America pageant has come a long way since its beginnings.
The History of Miss Deaf America
The Miss Deaf America Pageant began in 1966 as the brainchild of Douglas Burke. With the goal of finding the hidden talents of the deaf in the fields of visual and performing arts, Burke established a National Cultural Program with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). After seeing the rapid growth of state contests held within the structure of the Cultural Program and with the blessing of the NAD, Burke established the Miss Deaf America Talent Pageant. According to the Utah Association for the Deaf, the pageant was “a new concept to help us elevate the image and self-concept of deaf ladies throughout the United States. This is not an ordinary contest…beauty, poise, gracefulness are desirable qualities, but the biggest point is one’s cultural talent performance.”
The first Miss Deaf America Talent Pageant was held in 1972 in Miami Beach, FL, at the biannual NAD Convention. The pageant featured just five contestants and has undergone significant changes since that first year, including the omission of the word “talent” from the title in 1976 and the requirement of contestants to give a three-minute platform presentation in 1998.
The Structure of the Pageant
The Miss Deaf America pageant follows, remarkably closely, the structure of the Miss America Pageant. Young women, between the ages of 18 and 28 and with deafness or significant hearing loss, must compete at local and state levels first. These state and local pageants afford many contestants the opportunity to test the waters, so to speak, of their stage presence, poise, ability to handle the pressure, and so on, before going on to national competition. With the dropping of “talent,” it became clear that talent was no longer the main criteria the contestants were judge on. Community service, academic performance, knowledge of deaf culture and knowledge of current events round out the judging criteria. Contestants are still required to perform a talent of some sort in a segment of the pageant that has been renamed "artistic expression."
The Current Miss Deaf America
On July 11, 2008, in New Orleans, LA, Michelle Lapides of Maryland was crowned Miss Deaf America 2008-2010. Michelle's platform focused on education for deaf children. Michelle is currently a Communications Studies major at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. She has spent her two-year reign traveling across the country making appearances and will continue to do so until she passes on her title this summer.
Megan Abrams - I have lived with the effects of a childhood stroke for more than half my life and offer a uniquely personal perspective on disability.
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