Swimsuit Competition Craziness
Ever since I was old enough to hold a Barbie Doll, and especially in my teen years, I looked forward to watching the Miss America pageant with Ginger. We would sit in our pjs and bathrobes with bowls of ice cream, glued to the television, rooting for our favorites, staying up late. Each part of the competition was fun in its own way, but the talent competition was probably my favorite.
Now, after almost 100 years, the Miss America Organization has decided to eliminate the swimsuit competition component, in light of the #metoo movement and how it supposedly is demeaning to women. C’mon!!!! Really?? Do these women look like they are being demeaned? They look pretty damn proud to me. I think eliminating the swimsuit – and evening gown – competitions is a ridiculous mistake that will be the beginning of the end of this pageant.
- A beauty pageant is a form of entertainment, much like watching sports, pro-wrestling, or movies! What will be entertaining about seeing these women subjected to interview questions to evaluate their IQ? Not much. If you say it’s really a talent competition, then is it really just another American Idol or The Voice? That is not what has held an audience for 96 years.
- Why are some people so put off by judging on personal appearance? Like it or not, how you look matters in society – and it takes effort to look your best, even if young and blessed with good genes. These lovely ladies are not likely lunching on steak and cheese subs with 24oz creamy coffee drinks.
- It’s unfair that not every woman has a fair shot at this? Then I should be offended that with my short legs I will never make it as a sprinter in the Olympics? We all have different strengths and weaknesses – why should we recognize a great personal appearance any differently than we would recognize a high IQ, athletic ability, or musical talent???
- Women have chosen to be in this pageant with the full knowledge of the swimsuit competition. If they did not like the idea of parading on the stage in a bikini, they could choose not to enter. Seems to me that those that have participated enjoy every bit of this, are proud of their bodies and proud of the work they did to get there.
What are your thoughts on the elimination of the swimsuit competition?
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4 Comments
I agree with you Candy. The women obviously work hard to look the way they do. No one made them enter the pageant and they know full well what all of the categories are. They have never looked to me like they didn’t want to be up there on the stage.
Couldn’t agree more. Preach! I think once they see their viewership decimated they will either change their decision or be forgotten completely.
“We are no longer a pageant. We are a competition. We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance,” Gretchen Carlson, former Miss America and chair of the organization’s board of trustees, broke the news on Good Morning America today. They are going in a different direction to highlight scholarships tied to the competition. This is a good and healthy evolution. We all love to look good we all love to celebrate the female form in its glory but that’s what the Victoria’s Secret fashion show can be. Why not have one of the BIGGEST most well recognized competitions that awards serious $$ to women be about more than bikinis and dresses?
To me it IS more than about bikinis and dresses. These are smart women – not professional models – that have career and educational aspirations and choose to compete using their outward physical appearance. The likely loss of audience appeal isn’t what bothers me; what I find bothersome and actually sad is that as a society we are losing sight and actually ‘demeaning’ the fact that appearance DOES matter. Looking one’s best – regardless of age or body type – makes you actually feel better and can directly affect both your professional and personal life. This is part of how we are wired as human beings and it’s not a bad thing!
Agree to Disagree, thank you for commenting – I hope you encouraged more people to express their opinion here.