Former Miss Tampa applauds Miss America pageant changes

TAMPA (FOX 13) - The Miss America Organization announced Tuesday it's dropping the swimsuit competition from its iconic pageant, saying it will no longer judge contestants on their appearance.

In a news release, the organization said each candidate will participate in a live interactive session with the judges, where she 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."

Former FOX News host and 1989 Miss America Gretchen Carlson, who is now the organization's chairwoman, discussed the decision on Good Morning America.

"We want to be open, inclusive to women who may not have felt comfortable in participating in our program before," she said. "We have always had talent and scholarship and we need to message that part of the program better as well. And now we're adding in this new caveat that we're not going to judge your outward appearance because we're interested in what makes you, you. Tell us about your goals and your achievements in life and, by the way, at the end of the day, we hand out scholarships to these young women."

Olivia Butler, Miss Tampa 2017 and second runner-up for Miss Florida, both of which are connected to the Miss America competition, said she and many other former contestants are applauding the decision.

"I think that this is a wonderful step in the right directions to do what Miss America has wanted to do from the beginning," Butler said. "It's hard to completely revamp such a long history and tradition, but I think ultimately the objective of Miss America has been the same from its infancy and that is to develop and to evaluate what kind of female leader you're going to be. I think the decision to drop the swimsuit competition is simply a more accurate and precise way of evaluating the kind of Miss America you're going to be throughout your year."

The competition began nearly 100 years ago in Atlantic City, New Jersey as a bathing beauty contest designed to keep tourists coming to the seaside resort in the weeks after Labor Day.

With the rise of the #MeToo movement, the competition has run into resistance.

An email scandal last December in which former Miss America officials denigrated the intelligence, appearance, and sex lives of former title winners led to a shake-up at the top, and the group's top three leadership positions are now held by women, including Carlson.

Butler expects to see more women enter the competition now that the swimsuit portion has been scrapped.

"I don't think that we have maximized the potential and the number of young women that could participate in this organization because, unfortunately, there are some young women whose faiths will not allow them to participate in a swimsuit or they just are fundamentally against it," she said. "I would never want an incredible Miss America to be denied that opportunity simply because one portion of the competition isn't consistent with her personal beliefs. She deserves to compete, too."

The Miss America Organization says instead of evening gowns, contestants will be allowed to dress in whatever they feel most comfortable wearing.