Miss America contestants will no longer be judged on appearance

Contestants in the Miss America pageant will not longer have to model a swimsuit or don a ballgown, after organisers decided to phase out the appearance-based elements of the contest.

Instead of modelling swimwear, state champions “will be asked to demonstrate their passion, intelligence and overall understanding of the job of Miss America” in a live interview with judges, ABC reports.

The eveningwear round, another traditional component of the event, will also be retooled to ask contestants to “wear attire that makes them feel confident, expresses their personal style and shows how they hope to advance the role of Miss America”.

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Gretchen Carlson, chair of Miss America’s board of directors, confirmed in an appearance on Good Morning America on Tuesday that participants will no longer be judged on their physical appearances.

“We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance,” she said. “That's huge.”

She added that new Miss America competition will also be more inclusive to women of “all shapes and sizes”.

Founded in 1921, Miss America has attracted the ire of feminists for decades, accused of encouraging the objectification of women and promoting narrow beauty standards.

The changes are part of an ongoing attempt to move the annual contest away from its roots as a beauty pageant and into the 21st century.

Carlson is one of three women who now lead the organisation, whose senior male executives resigned in December 2017 after it was revealed that “leaders and employees had sent emails disparaging pageant contestants”, CNN reports, “including references to their weight and sex lives”.

A former Miss America winner herself, she is “outspoken advocate for victims of sexual harassment and a champion of the #MeToo movement”, says ABC.