Pageant Trouble: An Exploration of Gender Transgression in Little Miss Sunshine

Abstract

Little Miss Sunshine is a recent (2006) film that was popular among various audiences within the United States. Because of its popularity, this film serves as an important representation of cultural norms and ideals since it is through popular culture we learn lessons about gender and race. The plot centers on a dysfunctional white family making a cross-country journey in order to enter their elementary school aged daughter into a beauty pageant. Utilizing Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity, we investigate the relationships between beauty pageants and gender. We also use the film as a site to explore interpellations of femininity and sexuality. We explore how the main character, Olive, disrupts normative gender expectations and behaviors by performing her gender in transgressive ways at the pageant.