Timeline

How A Swimsuit Competition Became A Scholarship Program

• 1921- The first Miss America Pageant is held in Atlantic City, NJ.  The pageant, a simple bathing suit competition, is developed as a marketing tool to keep tourists on the boardwalk past Labor Day.  It is a success but raises concern over the objectification of women.[1]
• 1929 – Women’s clubs voice concerns over the morality of young women publically exposing themselves in swimwear.  The pageant is subsequently shut down only to be reinstated in 1933.[2]
• 1935 – The pageant attempts to revamp its image after a scandal surrounding a nude statue of the current Miss America once again sparks debate over the pageant objectifying women.[3]  Lenora Slaughter, a PR specialist, is hired to help with the process.  She suggests adding a talent portion to the competition to make it more wholesome and it is implemented in 1938.[4]
• 1944 – At the urging of Slaughter, the Miss America program begins to award college scholarships.[5] Slaughter firmly believes that the contestants have more to offer than just their looks.
• 1947 – Miss America is crowned in her bathing suit for the final time; subsequent Miss Americas will be crowned in the much more dignified evening gown.[6]
• 1951 – Miss America 1951 Yolande Betbeze, a religious southern woman, challenges the tradition of Miss America as a bathing beauty when she refuses to be photographed in her swimsuit.[7] Her actions cause Catalina, Miss America’s longtime swimsuit sponsor, to withdraw support.
• 1968 – Feminists of the New York Radical Women’s group claim that Miss America reduces women to “sex objects” and hold a large protest against the pageant.[8]
• 1989 – The MAO adds social issue platforms as a pageant requirement to encourage women to advocate for something during their reign.[9]
• 2001 – The name of the swimsuit competition is changed to “Lifestyle and Fitness” to encourage contestants to focus more on health than appearance.[10]
• 2008- Miss America Kristin Haglund advocates for eating disorder awareness during her reign and shares that she struggled with Bulimia before competing for Miss America.[11]