Contestants and Conservative Domesticity

Elaine Watkins' talent converted the same basic dress into a work ensemble and a cocktail dress.  She had made all three items herself.

The level and amount of contestant participation in Mrs. NC State was by no means unusual.  Contestants needed to model Sunday dress and eveningwear, and, possibly in some years, bathing suits.  They also needed to perform a talent and answer topical questions.  State's Mates often used their costumes and talents to promote a conservative notion of domesticity.  For example, Elaine Watkins, for her talent, modeled clothing that she had made herself.  Other contestants, while engaging in different talents, also modeled clothing that they had sewn.  By associating feminine looks with a domestic task such as sewing, State's Mates portrayed a specific image of womanhood.

Jan Roberts' talent for the beauty pageant was the recitation of a sonnet that her husband had written her.

Contestants' talents could affirm their domesticity in other ways.  Jan Roberts's talent was to recite a sonnet that her husband had written for her.  Most talents, to be clear, did not take this route, but talents such as these were considered viable.  Other talents included song, dance, and theatre.

The review of the 1968 pageant discusses the winner's talent, which affirmed conservative notions of domesticity.

In fact, talents that promoted domesticity could result in a win.  Shirley Trottier, the winner of the 1968 pageant earlier alluded to, performed for her talent a skit.  The script to the skit was a poem that Trottier had written, entitled "A Good Wife Before and After School."

This is entirely contiguous with earlier practices of State's Mates.  Modeling clothes that one had made for oneself counted as a talent in variety shows, and fashion shows encouraged State's Mates to look feminine.  However, State's Mates members were now competing for the role of Mrs. NC State.  That they continued to define themselves in this way shows that State's Mates were trying to promote domestic roles as representative not only of student wifehood, but also womanhood at North Carolina State University.  Such talents did help student wives such as Shirley Trottier win the prize.

Contestants' deliberate use of domesticity to promote themselves as potential Mrs. NC States stands in stark contrast to the talent choices of contestants in "Miss" pageants across the nation.  There is little literature on the historic practice of talent in the Miss America pageant, but categories for "Most Talented" non-finalists included "Best Dancer," "Best Popular Singer," and "Best Classical or Semi/classical Singer." It is also consistent with talent choices in the 1990’s, where twenty-eight out of fifty contestants in the 1997 Miss America pageant performed vocal pieces.  To be sure, many Mrs. NC State contestants also chose vocal talents.  However, in “Miss” pageants, talents that are useful in a household are far less important than talents which demonstrate civility and higher-class culture.

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