Swimsuit Contest Wins In Landslide

The swimsuits stay.

Nearly 1 million people registered their opinions during Saturday night’s Miss America pageant - 79 percent were in favor of keeping the swimsuit competition, 21 percent against.

If the viewers voted “no,” another production number would have been substituted. Pageant officials declined to say what that was.

Pageant contestants competing in swimsuits have created an ocean of controversy almost since the first bathing beauties paraded in 1921.

Opponents say the competition is sexist and irrelevant in choosing a role model for the country’s young women. Supporters say a woman’s appearance in a bathing suit shows how healthy and physically fit she is.

Pageant swimsuits are high at the neckline and low on the thighs, and have yards more material than a string bikini. But that’s not the point, opponents say - including last year’s winner.

“If you’re competing for a scholarship and a job to become a spokesperson for your platform, you should be judged on your heart and mind and how you handle yourself, not on how you wear swimsuits,” the outgoing Miss America, Heather Whitestone, said Friday.

Her predecessor, Miss America 1994 Kimberly Aiken, defended the swimsuits, saying the winner’s year is grueling and she needs to be fit.

Viewers called one of two 900-telephone numbers that flashed on screen during the first 90 minutes of the three-hour live broadcast. The results of the poll were announced on the air. The raw tally was not released.

Each call cost 50 cents.