Behind the Bag: The 1950s Contest That Reduced Women to Body Parts

In 1951, at Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey, the concept of beauty took a strange turn. The organizers wanted to crown the woman with “the most beautiful legs” — but there was a twist. To make sure the judges focused only on the legs, contestants had to wear pillowcases over their heads, completely hiding their faces and identities.

One by one, the women stood on a staircase while judges — mostly suited men — knelt and observed their legs from every possible angle. The goal? “Unbiased judgment.” The result? A scene that looks straight out of a surreal comedy or a dystopian dream.

The photo, now iconic, perfectly captures how odd society’s obsession with beauty standards could get. What was meant to be a “fair” contest feels, in hindsight, like a bizarre reflection of how women were objectified — reduced to body parts for public scrutiny.

Still, it’s a fascinating time capsule of 1950s America — an era obsessed with glamour, yet blind to its own irony.