As the sparkling crown is placed upon her head, she smiles. Fernanda has just won the Miss Costa Rica beauty pageant. Because Fernanda comes from the same canton as I do, I felt proud and represented at the time; however, I began to wonder about the power these types of competitions hold over women. As a college student, I have witnessed how beauty conceptions influence women from a fairly early age. This has led me to think of beauty pageants in a broader way, where beauty represents the value and worth of a person. On one hand, many people perceive beauty pageants as the foundation of the stereotypes depicting how women should look and behave. On the other hand, the sponsors of these contests proclaim that beauty pageants represent the culture, tradition and values to which the contestants belong. Because of this, beauty pageants transcend from merely physical representations of beauty features to intangible characteristics that shape social awareness. Considering this, I plan to present both perspectives to impel reflection upon the following questions: are beauty pageants contributing to improving women’s conditions throughout the globe? Is beauty itself required to create awareness to obtain social justice?