The annual Miss America beauty pageant will get rid of the swimsuit competition and will no longer judge contestants on their appearance.
Although the pageant began 100 years ago as a “beauty contest” to draw people to Atlantic City, top pageant officials say the swimsuit portion is no longer appropriate — especially in the days of #MeToo.
“We’re not going to judge you on your appearance because we are interested in what makes you you,” said Gretchen Carlson, a former Miss America who is now the head of the organization’s board of trustees.
“”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 in making the announcement Tuesday morning on “Good Morning America.”
“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?”
Carlson added: “We are no longer a pageant. We are a competition.”
In place of the swimsuit portion of the competition, contestants will now “take part in a live interactive session with the judges, according to the organization,” ABC News reported.
“The organization is also getting rid of the evening gown portion of the competition and instead asking contestants to wear attire that makes them feel confident, expresses their personal style and shows how they hope to advance the role of Miss America,” ABC said.
The pageant was embroiled in controversy last year when emails emerged showing former Miss America officials belittling the intelligence of some contestants, as well as the appearance and sex lives of former title winners. Top officials were replaced and the pageant’s top three positions are now all held by women.
Carlson, who won the pageant in 1989, also said the new Miss America competition will include more women of “all shapes and sizes.”
The official Miss America Twitter account on Tuesday posted a video of a white bikini disappearing in a puff of white smoke with the hashtag #byebyebikini.
Carlson became a passionate advocate for victims of sexual harassment after she settled a lawsuit in 2016 against former Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes.
“I could have never expected what would happen when I sued my former employer at Fox News for sexual harassment 22 months ago, but look what has happened,” she said. “Thousands of women have been inspired to know that they can stand up and speak up and their voices will be heard.”
“If I’ve been a beacon of hope to any woman in that process, it has been worth it,” Carlson said.