Originally, Miss America pageant started in the 1920s as a "bathing beauty revue", which was a strategy to bring business to Boardwalk. The event was then called the Fall Frolic. Since then the pageant has undergone many changes. It is now an annual scholarship pageant, held for the American women between the age group of 17 to 24.The contestants are judged on the basis of their talents, performances, interviews, and physique. As a ritual the winner is always crowned by the former year's Miss America.
The pageant became the target of several protests, in the 1960s. It was the time when civil rights movement and second-wave feminism was on the rise. The pageant was compared to a county fair where livestock cattle were judged. Protestors destroyed several feminine products like artificial eyelashes, cosmetics, high-heels, corsets, girdles and lingerie. Symbolically, they crowned a sheep as Miss America. In the 1971 pageant, the Women's Liberation Front demonstrated the new design. Miss Iowa, Cheryl Browne was the first African-American contestant in the history of the pageant. Vanessa Williams was the first African-American to be crowned Miss America 1984. In 2016, Miss Missouri, Erin O'Flaherty became the first lesbian to participate in the pageant.
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The most controversial eligibility criteria for the pageant had been Rule No.7. Until 1940, it stated that "Contestants must be of good health and of the white race." In the later years, the pageant was rightly condemned to be shallow and sexist but also racist. To meet the No.7 criteria, the expecting contestants traced their ancestry and race back through generations. Darkly amusing, isn't it?! The only Jewish and the first one to become Miss America in 1945, was Bess Myerson.
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11th September 2016 was the 90th pageant held at the Boardwalk Hall in New Jersey. Savvy Shields, Miss Arkansas 2016 was crowned Miss America 2017. Miss America 2018 was the 97th one held on 10th September. This time it was a risky and bold move to go on with the pageant as the United States are trying to brace against the Hurricane Irma. The contestants were worried about their family and their home states but still went on with the event. Miss Florida said, “No matter what happens, we are strong and we can do it; we can get through anything together.”
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This segment has always drawn people's attention. The talent segment is majorly responsible for winning the competition. The contestants who added to the fun element was Miss Pennsylvania who played the song 'Listen' on her saxophone and wore a sequined pantsuit which was backless. Though it didn't work for her, she became a highlight of this pageant. Miss Louisiana Laryssa Bonacquisti came out as a self-taught ventriloquist who charmed everyone yodeling with her two dummies, Lucky and Lucy, adding to the fun element. This past week she won both for talent and the swimsuit competition. Miss Florida, Sara Zeng sauntered down the pageant's runaway as the first contestant and later won the swimsuit award and $1000 scholarship. In the preliminaries she gave a delightful piano performance and expressed her love for modeling:"I love modeling. It's always been a hobby of mine."
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This year in Miss America 2018 Cara Mund of North Dakota won the title and was crowned by the former crown bearer Savvy Shields. Mund is a trained National Dance Champion. At the pageant she gave a self-choreographed performance in Jazz style, on Michael Jackson's song 'The Way You Make Me Feel". She proclaimed that her mother is her role model as she had fought cancer thrice in her life. Already an Ivy League Honors Graduate she dreams of becoming the first female elected Governor of North Dakota. Now having won the pageant she is set to carry out her duties for a year as Miss America 2018. Later, she plans to attend law school at the University of Notre Dame and hopes to achieve a Doctorate.
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