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Miss North Dakota Cara Mund was crowned Miss America 2018 last September. (Photo of Donald Kravitz / Getty Images for Dick Clark Productions)
Controversy and drama continue to swirl around the Miss America contest.
The premise of a beauty contest where women are aligned with the style of cattle calls and who face each other seems rather counterintuitive to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements era. . But as we have seen time and time again, controversy can be a very good thing when you are looking for notes or attention.
In the case of the Miss America contest, attention was focused on this Sunday's show. It started with the June announcement on Hello America that women in competition will no longer do so based on their physical appearance. That's what at least the organization claims.
The organization announced in June that it had abandoned its swimsuit competition and reorganized its image. "We are no longer a show," said former Fox News presenter Gretchen Carlson. Carlson, the first former Miss America to be named chairman of the organization's Miss America board, added, "We are a competition."
The elimination of bikinis could be considered a good thing, but is the term "competition" an improvement over the term "contest"? Renamed Miss America 2.0, the pageant-slash competition enters the 21st Century with what many are hoping for is a whole new look and feels like it is trying to modernize by going from the front.
It will be very interesting to see how many people will be able to attend the Miss America competition broadcast this Sunday on ABC, because it will be the first time in 98 years that women who strut on stage will not do it. revealing bikinis and high heels. In addition, the segment of evening dresses has been revised; Competitors can wear whatever they feel confident about and what fits their personal style best.
The fact that the organization says that women will no longer be judged on their physical appearances, the focus now being on who they are under makeup, hair and sexy clothes, is an improvement. Women will be judged on their social impact initiatives and the empowerment of women will be central. And instead of participating in the barely present bikinis, they will be judged by a "live interactive session", a gesture that seems to be a carefully choreographed step in the right direction.
Still, the question remains: is such "competition" relevant at a time when women finally gain equality and make their voices heard? It seems paradoxical to confront women in a competition of all kinds, especially once based on appearance as the main factor of "victory".
It is admirable, however, that the organization is committed to making the necessary changes to make progress both in improving its message and its impact on women competing with each other. These changes began with the removal of the former leadership, including the ousting in 2017 of former CEO Sam Haskell and other executives after the publication of emails from past winners. In a few months, the organization has appointed women to the highest positions. Regina Hopper, Miss Arkansas 1983, correspondent for CBS News, and Marjorie Vincent-Tripp, Miss America 1991 and Assistant Attorney General in Florida, are respectively head of Carlson. There is also a predominantly female board of directors. These women understand the role the winner will play, as many of them are former Miss Americas.
The purpose of the new regime is to modernize competition and reform Miss America into a platform for women's development. Carlson, who sued former Fox News president Roger Ailes in 2016 for sexual harassment, has helped kick start the past few years. His lawsuit triggered a torrent of costumes that led to a plethora of powerful men like Bill O'Reilly, Charlie Rose, Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer.
Gretchen Carlson, president of Miss America and Miss America Cara Mund. (AP Photo)
Despite her efforts for women, there have been allegations against Carlson and Hopper, whose winner Cara Mund said she was doing the opposite of women's empowerment. Mund said she had been "systematically silenced, reduced and marginalized" once she had won. Carlson vehemently denied these allegations. In the midst of the scandal, representatives of 22 state reenactments called for the resignation of Carlson and Hopper.
Let's go back to the question: does America need such competitions or competitions, and are they relevant? Although we seem to go well beyond the interest in surface beauty, and we rather options for what a woman really represents, there are still opportunities for women from these competitions.
As for the relevance of Miss America, viewers will decide for themselves. The number of viewers has fallen sharply in recent years, but there has also been a significant drop in the number of applicants for the title. In 1970, approximately 70,000 women participated in Miss America's local, regional and national competitions, and in 2017 that number dropped to less than 4,000.
Miss America, once considered a must-see television, has been steadily declining over the decades. At its first broadcast in 1954, about 27 million were listened to. It is important to note that at the time, not all households had a television. In the 1960s, three out of four households, about 60 million people, were listened to.
By 1984, that number had dropped to about 28.2 million viewers. In 2007, the ratings dropped when the series was exiled on cable television and broadcast on CMT, attracting only 2.4 million viewers.
After returning to ABC in 2011 and returning to Atlantic City in 2013, ratings increased. In 2015, about 7 million people watched.
Otherwise, ratings dropped steadily, from 8.6 million viewers in 2013 to 7.1 million viewers in 2014. In 2017, only 5.6 million viewers registered, up from 6.2 million viewers in 2016, and 13% from 2015 to 2016.
As Carlson said during talks on the subject, Miss America will represent a new generation and is now open, inclusive and transparent. Her wish, she said, is to go forward and evolve, to empower and inspire all women, to celebrate their accomplishments and to give scholarships. She wants to focus on tomorrow's women leaders and their social impact and talents. She also hopes that the redesigned version of the contest will reach more young people. The organization's new motto is: "A leap into the future. In step with the past. At this point, it seems that Sunday's show will tell if his vision will be the same.
Miss America 2019 Contest will air on ABC on Sunday 9 September at 9 pm ET.
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Miss North Dakota Cara Mund was crowned Miss America 2018 last September. (Photo of Donald Kravitz / Getty Images for Dick Clark Productions)
Controversy and drama continue to swirl around the Miss America contest.
The premise of a beauty contest where women are aligned with the style of cattle calls and who face each other seems rather counterintuitive to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements era. . But as we have seen time and time again, controversy can be a very good thing when you are looking for notes or attention.
In the case of the Miss America contest, attention was focused on this Sunday's show. It started with the June announcement on Hello America that women in competition will no longer do so based on their physical appearance. That's what at least the organization claims.
The organization announced in June that it had abandoned its swimsuit competition and reorganized its image. "We are no longer a show," said former Fox News presenter Gretchen Carlson. Carlson, the first former Miss America to be named chairman of the organization's Miss America board, added, "We are a competition."
The elimination of bikinis could be considered a good thing, but is the term "competition" an improvement over the term "contest"? Renamed Miss America 2.0, the pageant-slash competition enters the 21st Century with what many are hoping for is a whole new look and feels like it is trying to modernize by going from the front.
It will be very interesting to see how many people will be able to attend the Miss America competition broadcast this Sunday on ABC, because it will be the first time in 98 years that women who strut on stage will not do it. revealing bikinis and high heels. In addition, the segment of evening dresses has been revised; Competitors can wear whatever they feel confident about and what fits their personal style best.
The fact that the organization says that women will no longer be judged on their physical appearances, the focus now being on who they are under makeup, hair and sexy clothes, is an improvement. Women will be judged on their social impact initiatives and the empowerment of women will be central. And instead of participating in the barely present bikinis, they will be judged by a "live interactive session", a gesture that seems to be a carefully choreographed step in the right direction.
Still, the question remains: is such "competition" relevant at a time when women finally gain equality and make their voices heard? It seems paradoxical to confront women in a competition of all kinds, especially once based on appearance as the main factor of "victory".
It is admirable, however, that the organization is committed to making the necessary changes to make progress both in improving its message and its impact on women competing with each other. These changes began with the removal of the former leadership, including the ousting in 2017 of former CEO Sam Haskell and other executives after the publication of emails from past winners. In a few months, the organization has appointed women to the highest positions. Regina Hopper, Miss Arkansas 1983, correspondent for CBS News, and Marjorie Vincent-Tripp, Miss America 1991 and Assistant Attorney General in Florida, are respectively head of Carlson. There is also a predominantly female board of directors. These women understand the role the winner will play, as many of them are former Miss Americas.
The purpose of the new regime is to modernize competition and reform Miss America into a platform for women's development. Carlson, who sued former Fox News president Roger Ailes in 2016 for sexual harassment, has helped kick start the past few years. His lawsuit triggered a torrent of costumes that led to a plethora of powerful men like Bill O'Reilly, Charlie Rose, Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer.
Gretchen Carlson, president of Miss America and Miss America Cara Mund. (AP Photo)
Despite her efforts for women, there have been allegations against Carlson and Hopper, whose winner Cara Mund said she was doing the opposite of women's empowerment. Mund said she had been "systematically silenced, reduced and marginalized" once she had won. Carlson vehemently denied these allegations. In the midst of the scandal, representatives of 22 state reenactments called for the resignation of Carlson and Hopper.
Let's go back to the question: does America need such competitions or competitions, and are they relevant? Although we seem to go well beyond the interest in surface beauty, and we rather options for what a woman really represents, there are still opportunities for women from these competitions.
As for the relevance of Miss America, viewers will decide for themselves. The number of viewers has fallen sharply in recent years, but there has also been a significant drop in the number of applicants for the title. In 1970, approximately 70,000 women participated in Miss America's local, regional and national competitions, and in 2017 that number dropped to less than 4,000.
Miss America, once considered a must-see television, has been steadily declining over the decades. At its first broadcast in 1954, about 27 million were listened to. It is important to note that at the time, not all households had a television. In the 1960s, three out of four households, about 60 million people, were listened to.
By 1984, that number had dropped to about 28.2 million viewers. In 2007, the ratings dropped when the series was exiled on cable television and broadcast on CMT, attracting only 2.4 million viewers.
After returning to ABC in 2011 and returning to Atlantic City in 2013, ratings increased. In 2015, about 7 million people watched.
Otherwise, ratings dropped steadily, from 8.6 million viewers in 2013 to 7.1 million viewers in 2014. In 2017, only 5.6 million viewers registered, up from 6.2 million viewers in 2016, and 13% from 2015 to 2016.
As Carlson said during talks on the subject, Miss America will represent a new generation and is now open, inclusive and transparent. Her wish, she said, is to go forward and evolve, to empower and inspire all women, to celebrate their accomplishments and to give scholarships. She wants to focus on tomorrow's women leaders and their social impact and talents. She also hopes that the redesigned version of the contest will reach more young people. The organization's new motto is: "A leap into the future. In step with the past. At this point, it seems that Sunday's show will tell if his vision will be the same.
Miss America 2019 Contest will air on ABC on Sunday 9 September at 9 pm ET.
