People Call Me Miss Piggy Universe: Siera Bearchell As Representation of Antithesis, Female Power, and New Femininity in Miss Universe

Abstrak

This research was conducted to investigate Siera Bearchell, the plus size contender in Miss Universe as the representation of antithesis of slenderness in Miss Universe. This research also investigated how Siera Bearchell perpetuated her female power by becoming the plus size contender.  Furthermore, this research also unraveled the way Siera Bearchell contributed to the new perspective of femininity in American society.
The finding of the observation was then discussed using Naomi Wolf’s myth of beauty in media and female power to observe how Siera Bearchell represented the antithesis of slenderness and how she perpetuated her female power by becoming the plus size contender in Miss Universe. This research also applied Gill and Scharff’s New Femininities to see the way Siera Bearchell contributed to the new femininity in American society by joining the pageant.
This research showed that Siera Bearchell represented the antithesis of body image of slenderness in Miss Universe through the refusals to meet Miss Universe dominant body image. These forms of refusals helped Siera Bearchell to perpetuate her female power by embracing the dark side to get self-confidence in joining the pageant. The existence of Siera Bearchell, also, has contributed to the new femininity in American society since she negated the American bodily ideal of slender.

Keywords: Plus Size, Body Size, Miss Universe, Antithesis, Power, New Femininity, American