Miss America changes mean local, state pageants will get rid of swimsuit portion as well

Since its start in 1921, the Miss America pageant has been famous for its swimsuit competition. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, however, the pageant will be getting rid of the swimsuit portion to focus on brains rather than beauty.

ABC-7 spoke with current Miss El Paso America Andrea Chacon about the changes.

“They no longer want the pretty girl. They want the girl who can speak. They want the girl who is goal oriented,” said Chacon.

In three weeks Chacon will be competing for the title of Miss Texas, which will still feature the swimsuit competition for now.

“For us, everything is going to stay the same for now, but once Miss America occurs, everybody has to implement this change,” said Chacon.

That means local and state pageants will also eliminate the swimsuit portion of the competition.

In place of the swimsuit competition, contestants will interact with the judges. They will discuss how they will use their talents, passion and ambition to perform the job of Miss America.

“We’re really breaking that beauty stamp now because I really think that every girl that steps on that stage is beautiful but, at the end of the day, we want to make sure that our Miss America is someone who is also beautiful on the inside, someone who has the passion, good values and good morals,” said Chacon.

The evening-wear portion of the competition will also be changed to allow women to wear something other than a gown if they want. The talent portion of the contest will remain.

The changes will start with this year’s broadcast of Miss America right here on ABC on Sept. 9th.