THERE SHE IS

The Room Where It Happened

 

Although it felt a bit strange to ask the woman who, like myself, competed in this organization and has now overseen it for the past 12 years, I pushed aside the awkwardness and told her the questions I am seeking to answer. Is Miss America still relevant? Is it truly an organization that empowers all women? To answer these questions, we began by discussing the changes made to the organization in the transition to Miss America 2.0. To which, Bennett said the following,

 

“All of the changes that were made were made in the spirit of maintaining the brand’s visibility and sustaining the program in a way that does not objectify women but does allow them a platform for building themselves and earning scholarships in a competitive space.”

 

Obviously, I had to ask Bennett about the biggest and most controversial change - the removal of the swimsuit competition. As someone who competed on the Miss America stage in a swimsuit herself, and then went on to have a voice in deciding to remove it as a phase of the competition, I was curious what she thought.

 

Bennett shared that, personally, she was a fan of the swimsuit and felt much of the state of Arkansas was too. As a competitor, it was a phase of competition that made her feel empowered. In fact, after years of competing at the state level and never hearing her name called for an award, swimsuit was the first preliminary competition she ever won. As a director, she viewed it as an opportunity to encourage young women to invest in their physical well-being and to give away scholarship money. However, she understood that many others across the country did not feel the same way.

 

“I want the brand to succeed, so if we have to sacrifice swimsuit in order to do that - so people get the broader message of what we do in women’s education and empowerment and finding their voice and a purpose in their community - then we’ll sacrifice swimsuit.”

 

When the board members were brought in, they were told of the challenges the organization was facing. While Bennett’s home state of Arkansas had not seen a decrease in competitors, other states throughout the country were not having the same experience. Bennett and the other board members understood that in order to appeal to the next generation of young women, changes to the organization might be necessary, despite their personal feelings.

 

“If our goals of reaching women are being occluded by a swimsuit, then we have to remove the swimsuit.”

 

When it came to making the decision to remove the swimsuit competition, I asked Bennett what the process was really like. Were the board members given a choice in the decision or was the decision already made? To which, she shared,

 

“We were all given a vote. In retrospect, the way that it was done, I would do differently, but I would still say the decision was right.”

 

While she agreed with the decision, Bennett thought the communication of it could have been executed differently, a big reason for this being that it was far from the only change made to the organization, but it was the only one people seemed to notice.

 

“The removal of swimsuit was so iconic that it became THE headline.”

 

However, it was not the only change. In an attempt to stay relevant and appeal to the next generation of young women, Miss America wanted to remove all judgment of outward physical appearance which extended beyond the removal of swimsuit to the evening gown competition as well. So, in 2.0, the red-carpet phase of competition replaced the evening gown. Whereas previously, all women were required to wear an evening gown, with this change, women were encouraged to wear whatever made them feel confident - a pantsuit, a ballgown, a high fashion look, anything that made them feel empowered.

 

“It was taking the beautiful element out and saying it’s not about beauty because that’s such a subjective thing. And it’s not about symmetry, and it’s not about size. It’s about confidence and elements of beauty that are different today than they were in 1923.”

 

Since the 1990s, to satisfy then critics of the MAO, contestants have selected causes to advocate for as titleholders. This was formerly referred to as a contestant’s platform. As part of the 2.0 rebrand, the platform was renamed the social impact initiative. In lieu of the swimsuit competition, women now give a social impact initiative pitch on stage in front of the judges and audience. This pitch has varied in length from 30 seconds to a minute since its inception. It is meant to give the listener an idea of what the presenter’s issue is and what they are doing or plan to do with it in the format of an elevator pitch.

 

Along with being scored on their social impact pitch, candidates are scored on their on-stage interview. In this phase of the competition, candidates are asked a question by one of the judges, usually relating to something discussed in their private interview. Together, the scores from the social impact initiative pitch and the on-stage interview take the place of what once was the swimsuit score.

 

The changes being made to the MAO were significant. These were elements that had been a part of the organization since its inception nearly one hundred years prior. But something else was significant - the people who were making these decisions. For the first time, it was primarily women and not only that, but many of them were women who had competed in the MAO. Bennett had this to say about the people who made up the board,

 

“There are things that were accomplished because there were women at the table who had been part of the program. It is different when a woman who has walked in those shoes makes a decision for other women.”

 

Bennett believes the changes made to the organization did accomplish the goal. Many states across the country have seen an increase in participation and while some people have chosen to leave the organization either as competitors, sponsors or volunteers over the changes, others have joined for the same reasons.

 

While many things about the MAO have changed throughout its 100-year history and especially the last couple of years, Bennett believes the type of woman the organization produces remains the same.

 

“This program creates women with the fortitude to fight for themselves and to fight for others.”

 

So, is Miss America still relevant? Is it truly an organization that empowers women? Is it truly an organization that empowers ALL women? According to Bennett, absolutely.