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On Tuesday, The Miss America Pageant announced that they are rebranding themselves as a competition and doing away with both the swimsuit portion as well as during the evening wear portion, allowing women to wear what they please.

Gretchen Carlson, the chairwoman for The Miss America Pageant announced on Good Morning America, “We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance. That’s huge.” Carlson also added that they will be more inclusive of women of all shapes and sizes. The organization admits that this change in their 97-year history is inspired by the #MeToo Movement.

Instead of the swimsuit competition, the contestants will have live interactive sessions with judges. The Miss America Organization released a statement explaining the contestant, “will highlight her achievements and goals in life and how she will use her talents, passion, and ambition to perform the job of Miss America.”

We came up with 5 things to substitute the swimwear portion of the competition.

HIGHLIGHT A CAUSE THAT THEY BELIEVE IN

Each contestant already performs community service, so what a perfect opportunity to highlight their organization of choice. This could be a small video done in advance combined with the contestant discussing why the organization is so important to them. Bonus points for a GoFundMe.com link!

FITNESS WEAR

The Miss Teen USA pageant switched their swimsuit competition to fitness wear and Miss USA should follow suit! Michelle Obama spent eight years encouraging America to get up and get moving and making fitness cool again. This competition could support this movement with women in workout gear and focus on what makes them feel and look strong.

HAVE THEM SHARE A REAL MOMENT

It’s important to highlight the struggles as well as the successes. It wasn’t easy to get on that big stage! Have the contestants share a moment of struggle in their life. Were they bullied in school? How did they learn to overcome it and use it as a positive force in their life today? Teaching moments are much better to focus on than ones figure.

POLITICS

Our country is in dire straights. We have no time for people with platforms to be unaware and uneducated. Let’s extend the Question and Answer portion of the pageant and discover not only the contestants’ political beliefs and stances, but also what they plan to do to help shift the political climate to a more favorable one.

FAMILY

The Miss America contestants could show us more into their personal life by including a family segment. How cool would it be to hear from the contestants’ parents or even have their family involved in some manner.

Beauties, what do you want to see from The Miss America Pageant as they instill these changes? Let us know in the comment section!

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