Gal Perry Behind the Scenes with the Beauty Queens - Miss Vermont Teen Sydney Perry & Miss Illinois Galaxy Britten Traughber

We all know the stereotype of a beauty queen in a tiny bathing suit telling the judges that she would use her title to achieve "world peace." So you may think that the women who enter beauty contests are simple-minded narcissists with next-to-nothing in their pretty little heads. Think again.

Britten Traughber enters beauty pageants as part of her work as a visual artist and performer. She's a three-time Runner-Up in the Miss Vermont USA pageant and currently holds the title of Miss Illinois Galaxy. She received her BA in Visual Arts from Bennington College and is a Graduate Fellow at Illinois State University, where she's pursuing an MFA in photography.

Janice Perry: I know that Beauty Pageantry is part of your art practice. Can you tell us about that? How did you start?

Britten Traughber: Five years into my work, I consider myself a lover of all things "Pageant." My family might say it's just become an obsession and they could be right. Part of being an artist is finding your passion and I feel lucky to have found mine, even though it's pushed me in a direction I never expected to go!

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