A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes solely so, but most modern beauty pageants have since expanded to also judge contestants based on "inner beauty" their individual traits and characteristics, including personality, intelligence, aptitude, moral character, and charity. Though typically perceived as a female-oriented competition, male beauty pageants also exist, as do child beauty pageants for youth.
The Big Four or the Big League Pageants refers to the four major international beauty pageants for women: Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International, and Miss Earth. The group was first described by the China Daily newspaper in 2004 as "the world's four major beauty contests".