Beginning in the 1920′s and going all the way through the 60′s, chiropractors across the U.S. held beauty contests that judged not only contestants’ appearance but the straightness of her spine and her overall posture as well. The winners were proclaimed “Miss Correct Posture.”
The contests were a way to get some good PR during a time when chiropractic medicine was heavily resisted by the mainstream medical community and thousands of chiropractors were being prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license. The political fight to get separate licensing for chiropractors had its first success in Kansas in 1913 and lasted all the until 1974 when Louisiana finally gave in.
During most if this period and peaking in the 50′s, chiropractor beauty contests were a simple, non-confrontational way to get the word out about chiropractics and to make the practice seem both legit and healthful.
Here are some photos from the contest held at a national convention of chiropractors in Chicago in 1956…
Chiropractors eyeball a contestants spine, comparing its straightness to a plumb-bob
First, second, and third place winners with their trophies and spines…
Chiropractor and contestant review a model spine…
Chiropractors judge posture by seeing if body weight is evenly distributed over two scales…
Miss Correct Posture, 1956 stands by an x-ray of her lovely spine…
Over time, as chiropractors found the respect they were looking for, interest in these contests waned. The final Miss Correct Posture was named in 1969.