The Miss America Pageant Will No Longer Include a Swimsuit Competition
In a move meant to modernize in the era of #MeToo, the Miss America pageant will no longer include a swimsuit competition.
The organization’s new Board of Trustees chairwoman, former Fox News anchor and Miss America 1989, Gretchen Carlson appeared on Good Morning America to make the big announcement. (Carlson took charge of Miss American earlier this year after the Huffington Post discovered emails from former CEO Sam Haskell and other leaders in which contestants were slut-shamed, body-shamed, and called vulgar names.)
“We are no longer a pageant,” Carlson told GMA. “We are a competition. We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance. That’s huge.”
Carlson said they will also be revamping the evening gown portion of the program. Instead contestants will be asked to wear clothing that makes them feel comfortable and confident—an expression of their own personal style.
“We’ve heard from a lot of young women who say, ‘We’d love to be a part of your program but we don’t want to be out there in high heels and a swimsuit,’ so guess what, you don’t have to do that anymore,” Carlson said. “Who doesn’t want to be empowered, learn leadership skills and pay for college and be able to show the world who you are as a person from the inside of your soul. That’s what we’re judging them on now.”
“We are now open, inclusive and transparent and I want to inspire thousands of young people across this country to come and be a part of our program,” she continued. “We want you and we want to celebrate your accomplishments and your talents and then we want to hand you scholarships.”
Carlson also hopes to put more focus on the talent and scholarship aspects of the competition going forward.
Reaction online has been fairly positive so far.
https://twitter.com/peytonhenshaw/status/1003963835097763841
But, of course, there are some upset about the changes.
As for whether or not the competition’s new direction will affect ratings—we’ll just have to wait until September to find out.