The glitzy Miss America competition was born from a 1921 Atlantic City beauty contest, just a year after women were given the right to vote, and maintains a complicated presence in an American culture that has since undergone multiple waves of feminism.
The glitzy competition was born from a 1921 Atlantic City beauty contest, just a year after women were given the right to vote, and maintains a complicated presence in an American culture that has since undergone multiple waves of feminism. Participation and viewership has dropped since its 1960s heyday — when the next Miss America is crowned Thursday, her coronation will only be available to stream via NBC's Peacock service, shunted from her primetime broadcast throne.
“It’s in kind of a bind because as it tries to progress, it not only loses its original identity, but becomes less entertaining to the people who like to watch it,” said Margot Mifflin, author of"Looking for Miss America: A Pageant’s 100–Year Quest to Define Womanhood." Fans, she said, are split over the trajectory of the competition — no longer “pageant.
It wasn’t until 2018 that the judging on physical appearance was eliminated, with the help of former Miss America Gretchen Carlson, who ended up having to step down as board chair. Carlson was part of an all-female leadership team that took over following an email scandal in which male leaders insulted former Miss Americas, denigrating their appearance, intelligence and even their sex lives.
This year, the nonprofit organization — run by an ardent group of volunteers at the national, state and local levels — announced the top scholarship awarded at the Dec. 16 finale will double to $100,000. The change was made possible by a donation from Miss America 1996 Shawntel Smith Wuerch and her husband Ryan Wuerch.
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