Whether we find the Miss France competition prestigious, from another time or reductive, it is difficult to resist. As soon as all the regional candidates are elected, a question seems to arise: what does “our” Miss look like? And this year again, the ritual is no exception to the rule.
The regional elections, which began on April 26 in Dreux with the election of Miss Centre-Val de Loire, have just ended with the coronation of Miss Champagne-Ardenne on Sunday in Reims.
The 31 candidates who will try to win the crown of Miss France 2027 now have their faces displayed on social networks and in numerous media. And with them comes a curious reflex: look, observe… and form an opinion on a photo.
Admiring (or judging?) young women you don’t know
This is where the process gets interesting. Whether you are a fervent defender of the competition or consider this ritual to be outdated, it is difficult to resist the urge to click to discover the candidate from your region.
Is she blonde or brunette? Very smiling? Rather classic or original? Does she look like the image we have of a Miss? In a few seconds, we are already looking attentively at the faces of young women whom, for the most part, we did not know a few hours before.
And quickly, admiration mixes with judgment. “This one won’t be Miss France”, “this one is in my top 3”, “too classic”, “not smiling enough”… Remarks which almost spontaneously transform us into members of the jury, without any scruple
A mechanism that psychologist Amélie Boukhobza had already analyzed regarding the competition: “The competition allows this: evaluating someone on their appearance – but within a socially validated framework. Comparison then becomes a game… and therefore a form of relief.”
Why do we want to see “our” Miss?
So, why this desire to discover the face of the candidate who represents our region, even when we don’t particularly follow the competition?
For the psychologist, the first explanation is quite simple: we want to see the one who has been chosen. But there is also a small territorial dimension. “We’re going to see ‘our’ Miss, the one from our region,” explains the specialist. A way of identifying, even slightly, with this young woman supposed to represent a territory to which we are attached.
You don’t need to be passionate about Miss France to want to know who she is. Curiosity may be enough.
We judge because we are allowed to do so
A little voyeuristic side too? The term may seem tempting when you observe the physique of people you don’t know. But the psychologist prefers to talk about curiosity.
“Voyeurism still involves going to see something that is not really intended for us. There, these portraits are made to be seen”, she nuances.
The candidates present themselves precisely with this objective: to be looked at, photographed, compared and, ultimately, evaluated within the framework of the competition.
What is more revealing, however, is the rapidity with which our gaze switches from observation to evaluation. In other words, we do not just look: we mentally classify.
For what ? Because the competition invites us to do so. It is historically based on comparison and physical criteria, even if the selection methods have evolved over time.
By comparing them, we also compare ourselves
But there is also something more personal at play in this look at the candidates.
Because in front of these carefully photographed faces, the comparison does not go only in one direction. We evaluate the Misses, but we also, implicitly, evaluate our own appearance.
“Miss France becomes the scene of our little narcissistic issues and our rivalries, especially female ones. With this silent thought: ‘And me, where do I fit in?’ We gauge the candidates… and we gauge ourselves”analyzes Amélie Boukhobza.
A particularly interesting mechanism in the age of social networks, where faces and bodies are constantly exposed to comparison.
The Miss France competition can therefore be viewed as simple entertainment. But the reflex which consists of immediately looking for the face of “our” candidate also tells something about our relationship to the gaze of others, to beauty and to comparison. A taste before the big finale, on December 12, where we can still have fun. And criticize or admire, from our living room.