A raft of former Miss Americas have joined a chorus of disapproval at the decision to eliminate the swimsuit competition from the famous beauty pageant.
Former Miss America Ericka Dunlap argued ‘you can be a feminist in a swimsuit’ and said abolishing the feature was ridiculous because ‘every day is a beauty pageant’.
Madison Gesiotto, who was named Miss Ohio USA in 2014, went as far as to predict the competition would ‘cease to exist’ after the changes.
And Kendall Morris, a former Miss Texas who was the preliminary swimsuit winner at the Miss America 2012 pageant, also expressed disappointment at the news.
Madison Gesiotto, who was named Miss Ohio USA in 2014, went as far as to predict the competition would ‘cease to exist’ after the changes
Kendall Morris, a former Miss Texas who was the preliminary swimsuit winner at the Miss America 2012 pageant (pictured), expressed disappointment at the news that the competition would no longer feature a swimsuit competition
Former Miss America Ericka Dunlap argued ‘you can be a feminist in a swimsuit’ and said abolishing the feature was ridiculous because ‘every day is a beauty pageant’. She is pictured at the Miss America competition in September, 2003
‘As a former Miss America swimsuit winner, I have mixed feelings about getting rid of that part of the competition,’ Morris wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.
‘I have experienced firsthand the benefits of the fitness portion through receiving scholarship money and working with trainers who volunteered their time to teach me how to eat healthy and exercise, not just for 15 seconds onstage but for life.’
Gesiotto tweeted: ‘#MissAmerica will cease to exist without the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. Nobody will watch!!! It’s okay to be proud of both inner and outer beauty. They are not mutually exclusive.’
As the anger intensified on social media, Dunlap tweeted: ‘The reality is…EVERY DAY IS A BEAUTY PAGEANT! Everyone is judged on their appearance at some point during the day. Beyond personality or clothing, Miss America is an exceptionally disciplined, talented, intelligent and aware modern woman.’
She also pitched in during an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, during which she said: ‘What does a feminist look like?
‘A feminist is someone who, male or female, wants to position women so that they are powerful and that they have choices. And so, I feel like you can be in a swimsuit and a feminist.’
Morris, now a local news anchor, credited the ‘fitness competition’ for teaching her ‘lifelong discipline beyond the Miss America stage’
Courtney Pelot, who was Miss Wisconsin in 2016, tweeted a photo of herself in a swimsuit and a nightgown, saying: ‘I felt pretty darn empowered in both of these moments. We don’t need Miss America 2.0 to empower women – we’ve been doing just that for almost 100 years.’
Natasha Amera, a model who has competed in beauty pageants, also posted a notice on Twitter slamming the decision.
‘The fact that the bikini portion of Miss America got taken away is so sad and unbelievably lame,’ she wrote.
‘As someone who has actually competed in pageantry, it’s not about the swimsuit or the body, as others are commenting.
Natasha Amera, a model who has competed in beauty pageants, also posted a notice on Twitter slamming the decision. Amera is seen left with the late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington
‘It’s about being accountable and striving to look your best by being healthy in your lifestyle.
‘Being in a bikini on stage isn’t about having the most toned body, it’s about showing that you live a healthy lifestyle and are confident in the skin you’re in.
‘It’s empowering.
‘I don’t believe walking on stage in a bikini diminishes my strength as a woman or my success in the business world or as a student.
‘To act as though women need to be one dimensional is so outdated.
‘Removing this portion of the competition is neither progressive nor constructive because it insinuates that a woman cannot be both beauty and brains.
‘And to change the title from pageant to competition is so incredibly lame.
Courtney Pelot, who was Miss Wisconsin in 2016, also weighed in on the controversy
‘It’s the Miss America Pageant.
‘If you want a ‘competition,’ go throw darts.’
Gretchen Carlson, the new head of the organization’s board of directors, revealed the changes earlier on Tuesday, saying that Miss America will no longer judge women based on their physical appearance.
‘We are no longer a pageant,’ Carlson told Good Morning America on Tuesday. ‘We are a competition.’
The decision comes months after internal emails revealed former CEO Sam Haskell and board members frequently demeaned the physical appearance, intellect, and personal lives of former pageant winners, including Carlson.
There will no longer be a swimsuit competition in Miss America, it has been revealed
Gretchen Carlson, the new head of the organization’s board of directors, revealed that Miss America will no longer judge women based on their physical appearance
The Miss America Organization celebrated the news on Tuesday by tweeting a video of a bikini going up in smoke
Carlson, 51, was named chairwoman of the Miss America Organization just days after Haskell resigned in January.
Now Carlson hopes to usher in a new era for the organization, revealing the evening gown portion will also be cut as well.
Instead contestants will be asked to wear any attire that makes them feel confident, expresses their personal style, and shows how they will advance the role of Miss America.
‘We’ve heard from a lot of young woman 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”, Carlson said.
‘So guess what, you don’t have to do that anymore.’
The decision comes months after internal emails revealed former CEO Sam Haskell and others frequently demeaned the physical appearance of former contestants, including Carlson
Now Carlson hopes to usher in a new era for the organization, revealing the evening gown portion will also be cut as well
‘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 inside of your soul.’
‘That’s what we’re judging them on now…We want more women to know they are welcome in this organization.’
The swimsuit competition will now be replaced with an interactive session with the judges, in which the women will be asked to demonstrate their ‘passion, intelligence, and overall understanding of the job of Miss America’.
‘It’s going to be what comes out of their mouths we’re interested in when they talk about their social impact initiatives,’ Carlson said.
The Miss America Organization celebrated the news on Tuesday by tweeting a video of a bikini going up in smoke.
‘We’re changing out of our swimsuits and into a whole new era. #byebyebikini #MissAmerica2019,’ the tweet read.
Carlson also revealed that the organization now plans to put a greater emphasis on talent and scholarship.
‘Now we’re adding in this new caveat that we’re not going to judge you on your outward appearance,’ she said.
‘We’re interested in what makes you ‘you’, tell us about your goals and achievements in life and, by the way, at the end of the day we hand out scholarships to these young women.’
But not everyone was excited about the news on Tuesday morning.
One commenter on Twitter called it a ‘horrible decision’ that will ‘ruin show and tradition’.
‘Gretchen Carlson has no clue, experience, or idea that she has singlehandedly doomed show (sic)’, the Twitter user wrote.
‘Now may as well be America’s Got Talent. Not a celebration of women. Joke. Pathetic. Will not watch.’
‘No swimsuit segment for Miss America wow goodbye ratings goodbye Miss America,’ another man added.
‘So basically they are getting rid of the only reason people actually watch Miss America?’, one man asked.
‘Saying that Miss America contestants will no longer be judged on their appearance is like announcing that the Super Bowl will no longer be won by the team that scores the most points. In other words, it’s utterly stupid,’ said another angry male viewer.
Not everyone was excited about the news on Tuesday morning, with one man claiming the competition no longer ‘celebrated women’ without the swimsuit segment
And while there were some male critics of the news, many more women celebrated the major change and praised the organization for ‘solely judging women on their intellect’
And there was plenty of praise for the decision on Twitter, with one fan calling the news ‘amazing’.
‘This is huge!!’ another added. ‘We now live in a world that sees the value in solely judging women on their intellect and not their bodies.’
‘Bravo Miss America! What a great step in the right direction.’
‘Way to go Miss America,’ another added. ‘It’s about damn time, way to be led by women and driven by strength and not appearance.’
One longtime fan thanked Carlson, saying she cried listening to to the news this morning as she had never felt good enough to enter a pageant herself.
‘Many times I have said I would trade my intelligence if I could be pretty enough to be able to be a model or a pageant contestant,’ she wrote.
‘Thank you. I am sure it will matter to many young women in the future.’
Others took aim at the many men who expressed disappointed at the news.
Carlson said she is not concerned that the changes will hurt the competition’s viewership
‘Interestingly enough that’s not a highly rated part of the competition,’ she said of the swimsuit round. ‘People actually like the talent part of the competition’
‘The guys most upset about #MissAmerica dropping the swimsuit competition look exactly how you would expect them to,’ quipped fashion bloggers Tom & Lorenzo.
‘Someone actually just said that Miss America will no longer be a celebration of women without the swimsuit competition. Yes because the only way women can be celebrated is in a bikini,’ another sarcastically joked.
Meanwhile, Carlson said she is not concerned that the changes will hurt the competition’s viewership.
‘Interestingly enough that’s not a highly rated part of the competition,’ she said of the swimsuit round. ‘People actually like the talent part of the competition.’
Carlson added that she hopes young women realize that Miss America is ‘now open, inclusive, and transparent’.
‘I want to inspire thousands of young people across this country to come and be a part of our program,’ she said.
Carlson (pictured before winning Miss America in 1989) is the first former pageant winner to serve as the leader of the organization
‘We want you and we want to celebrate your accomplishments and your talents and then we want to hand you scholarships.’
Miss America made headlines last year after leaked emails showed Haskell and other male board members referring to former contestants as ‘c***s’.
In one email, Haskell wrote of tactics he hoped would drive Carlson insane.
Haskell was initially suspended from his role. At the time he denounced the Huffington Post expose and called the internal emails ‘unkind and untrue.’
‘Much of what was reported is dishonest, deceptive, and despicable,’ he said in a statement in December.
‘The story is so unkind and untrue, and hurts me, my family, and the stewardship of this nonprofit. Those who know my heart know that this is not indicative of my character, nor is it indicative of my business acumen.’
Haskell resigned the following day and, just 10 days later, Carlson was named the new CEO.
Carlson said it was a ‘form or justice’ that she was able to take over the role and saw the volunteer position as a ‘call of duty’.
When it first began in 1921, Miss America was actually a swimsuit competition called a ‘bathing beauty revue’ (pictured here are competitors during the swimsuit round in 1945)
Carlson said she hopes young women will realize that Miss America is ‘now open, inclusive, and transparent’. Pictured are competitors in 1947
The selection of Carlson marked the first time a former pageant winner has served as the leader of the organization.
Now the entire leadership team for Miss America is made up of women.
‘This is a new beginning, and change can sometimes be difficult, but I know a lot about change,’ Carlson said.
‘My life has worked in mysterious ways. I never thought I’d be the chairwoman of the Miss America Organization, but here I am and we’re moving it forward and we’re evolving in this cultural revolution.’
On Tuesday Carlson also touched on her recent work as an outspoken advocate for victims of sexual harassment.
Her lawsuit against former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, who stepped down from his role after mounting pressure from additional employees with similar accusations, is seen as one of the first sparks of the #MeToo movement.
‘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 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.’