Miss China Crowned Miss World!

Chinese Miss World Sparks Debate: What Will First-Ever Win Mean for Women in China?

For 54 years, the Chinese Communist Party has banned beauty pageants as decadent and demeaning to women. Several years ago, the ban was lifted and this weekend Zhang Zilin, a 23-year-old secretary and part-time model, emerged from more than 100 contestants to become Miss World 2007... Zhang's victory is seen not only as a victory for her, but also an accomplishment for China.

As China modernizes, some worry that the focus on physical appearance and beauty, previously considered decadent or bourgeois, sets standards that are unattainable for most young women. At the same time, despite the growing number of opportunities available to women in China today, many females still feel less valuable in a society that traditionally still prefers to bear sons...

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Many are noting that two Asain women currently hold international pageant titles; Japan's Riyo Mori is the reigning Miss Universe.

The United States was represented at Miss World by Abigail McCary who grew up in Minnesota, and earned a B.A. in Psychology from a college in Denver Colorado. Click here for more information and photos.