So the women vying to be Miss America 2019 won't parade across the Atlantic City stage in a swimsuit.
Believe it or not, I'm sorry to hear that.
I'm a lifelong aficionado of the Miss America tradition -- a tradition that started as a gimmick to extend Atlantic City's beach season beyond the Labor Day weekend, which is why the pageant (they're not calling it that anymore, either) is held in the second week of September. If nothing else, the swimsuit parade is a tie to that beach-y tradition.
The bikinis worn in last year's pageant (won by Miss North Dakota, Cara Mund -- I cheered out loud for that!) have only been featured in the last 20 or so years.
The first Miss America -- Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C., crowned in 1921 -- wore a woolen swimsuit almost modest enough, by today's standards, for a modern professional woman to wear to the office. Others wore bloomers. Then, it was panel-front one-piece suits that, by the 1960s, were so out of style that Miss America contestants had a bear of a time finding one. (Now, I think you can get one at Swimsuitsforall.com; it's a flattering style for a lot of women, and works well for lap-swimming and warm-water exercises.)
It's not that I have ever bought the contention of past pageant officials that the swimsuit competition is really about physical fitness. Not all women who are physically fit look good in a swimsuit of any style. And "looking good" is basically a matter of meeting breed standards for proportion, features, etc.
I also don't believe, entirely, that Miss America will no longer be judged on physical appearance. We're ALL judged on physical appearance -- men and women. And, historically, the women who have won the Miss America competition have not always been the prettiest contestants. (My vote for the most glamorous Miss America ever? Yolande Betbeze, Miss America 1951, an exotic brunette from Alabama. Bess Myerson, Miss America 1945, is a close second.)
If I were in charge of the Miss America competition, this is what I'd change:
1. I'd open it to people of all ages, and all gender identifications -- male, female, transgender, pan-gender -- and pick as the winner the one who is so comfortable in his/her/their own skin, every person whom they meet will also feel beautiful and at peace with themselves.
2. I would make the swimsuit competition truly about the swimsuit. How does the suit function for water sports, including but not limited to lap-swimming, water aerobics, surfing or standing in the shallows of Lake Michigan and waiting for the waves to lap your ankles? Do the color and style suit the wearer? Does the wearer feel confident when wearing the suit in public? (Points off for painful self-consciousness.) Did the wearer choose the suit because it's right for him/her/them, not just because it's the current style?
For those who are worried about the ratings for the Miss America competition dropping due to jettisoning the swimsuit competition: Don't worry. I'll still watch.
Meanwhile, here's a swimsuit shot of me. For reasons I can't fathom, it seems to boost my blog readership.
Believe it or not, I'm sorry to hear that.
I'm a lifelong aficionado of the Miss America tradition -- a tradition that started as a gimmick to extend Atlantic City's beach season beyond the Labor Day weekend, which is why the pageant (they're not calling it that anymore, either) is held in the second week of September. If nothing else, the swimsuit parade is a tie to that beach-y tradition.
The bikinis worn in last year's pageant (won by Miss North Dakota, Cara Mund -- I cheered out loud for that!) have only been featured in the last 20 or so years.
The first Miss America -- Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C., crowned in 1921 -- wore a woolen swimsuit almost modest enough, by today's standards, for a modern professional woman to wear to the office. Others wore bloomers. Then, it was panel-front one-piece suits that, by the 1960s, were so out of style that Miss America contestants had a bear of a time finding one. (Now, I think you can get one at Swimsuitsforall.com; it's a flattering style for a lot of women, and works well for lap-swimming and warm-water exercises.)
It's not that I have ever bought the contention of past pageant officials that the swimsuit competition is really about physical fitness. Not all women who are physically fit look good in a swimsuit of any style. And "looking good" is basically a matter of meeting breed standards for proportion, features, etc.
I also don't believe, entirely, that Miss America will no longer be judged on physical appearance. We're ALL judged on physical appearance -- men and women. And, historically, the women who have won the Miss America competition have not always been the prettiest contestants. (My vote for the most glamorous Miss America ever? Yolande Betbeze, Miss America 1951, an exotic brunette from Alabama. Bess Myerson, Miss America 1945, is a close second.)
If I were in charge of the Miss America competition, this is what I'd change:
1. I'd open it to people of all ages, and all gender identifications -- male, female, transgender, pan-gender -- and pick as the winner the one who is so comfortable in his/her/their own skin, every person whom they meet will also feel beautiful and at peace with themselves.
2. I would make the swimsuit competition truly about the swimsuit. How does the suit function for water sports, including but not limited to lap-swimming, water aerobics, surfing or standing in the shallows of Lake Michigan and waiting for the waves to lap your ankles? Do the color and style suit the wearer? Does the wearer feel confident when wearing the suit in public? (Points off for painful self-consciousness.) Did the wearer choose the suit because it's right for him/her/them, not just because it's the current style?
For those who are worried about the ratings for the Miss America competition dropping due to jettisoning the swimsuit competition: Don't worry. I'll still watch.
Meanwhile, here's a swimsuit shot of me. For reasons I can't fathom, it seems to boost my blog readership.
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