Swimsuit competition

History

In the United States, beauty pageants of women in bathing costumes became popular from the 1880s. However, such events were not regarded as respectable. Beauty contests became more respectable with the first modern "Miss America" contest held in 1921, though less respectable beauty contests continued to be held.

Contest organization

Subject to relevant decency laws which generally require nipples and labia to be covered, organisers of each competition may determine the standards of "dress" and nudity of the competition, which may permit or require contestants to wear any variety of bikini, including a microkini (consisting of a tiny bra and thong) . The organisers may also specify the contestants' age range. There may be a panel of at least three judges. One or two announcers present the competition, and they may also help the contestants to connect with the crowd. Winning over the crowd is of principal importance for most competitions, as results can be heavily influenced by audience input, while in some cases formal judges are absent entirely and the winner may be decided by popular vote.

Bikini contests may be organised or sponsored by related companies for marketing purposes or to try to find and attract new talent to promote their products. Miss Hawaiian Tropic is organized by Playtex to promote "Hawaiian Tropic", its suntan lotion. NOPI runs the annual "Hot Import Nights" bikini contest, which is held in conjunction with the import car-show in Atlanta, Georgia, and the annual Hooter's bikini competition.

Controversies

Despite their popularity and women's voluntary participation, swimsuit competitions, especially bikini contests, may be controversial. Critics argue that beauty contests reinforce the idea that girls and women are primarily valued for their physical appearance, and that this puts pressure on women to conform to conventional beauty standards by spending time and money on fashion, cosmetics, hair styling and even cosmetic surgery. It depletes their bodies of nutrients, energy and even water at the end and expresses a totally unrealistic and unsustainable lifestyle, centered purely around how little fat and how much spray tan they have on. This pursuit of physical beauty even encourages some women to diet to the point of harming themselves.

Miss World contest

The first Miss World contest was organized by Eric Morley in 1951 as a promotion for swimwear at the Festival of Britain. The press welcomed the spectacle and referred to it as Miss World. When the winner Kiki Håkansson from Sweden was crowned in a bikini, countries with religious traditions threatened to withdraw delegates. The bikinis were outlawed and evening gowns introduced instead. Håkansson remains the only Miss World crowned in a bikini, a crowning that was condemned by the Pope. The bikini was banned from Miss World beauty pageants after the controversy.

Bikinis reappeared in later contests amid additional controversy. In the 1970s and 1980s the contest was regularly picketed by feminist protesters. The pageant disappeared for a while and in 1996, when the Miss World contest was held in Bangalore, India, dozens of Indian groups opposed to the event claimed that the contest degraded women by featuring them in bikinis. Social activist Subhashini Ali commented, "It's not an IQ test. Neither is it a charity show. It's a beauty contest in which these things have been added on as sops." The protests were so intense that the organizers were finally compelled to shift the venue of the "Swimsuit Round" to Seychelles. Countering these claims, the contest organizer says that the organization has raised ₤300 million for charity in many of the countries where it operates since 2000.

In 2013, the Miss World event was hosted by Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country. The country's top Muslim clerical body, the Indonesian Ulema Council, suggested that the event should be cancelled because it promotes "hedonism, materialism, and consumerism," and is nothing but "an excuse to show women's body parts that should remain covered." The organizers later announced that the bikini would be replaced by one-piece swimsuits and sarongs, traditional beachwear on the resort island of Bali. Pageant Chairwoman Julia Morley explained, "I do not want to upset or get anyone in a situation where we are being disrespectful."

Critics accuse the Miss World organizers of caving to extremist pressures. They point out that Bali is a destination for tourists from across the world who often wear minimal swimwear.

Brooke Magnanti argued that the decision to yield to religious fundamentalists was not a victory for feminism:

While no great fan of pageants there's something about this that rubs the wrong way. For some time it's been clear that the interests and tactics of certain types of feminism and certain types of religious fundamentalism not only converge, but seem to complement each other.

Donald Trump, who owned the Miss Universe beauty pageant until it was acquired by WME/IMG, a competitor to the Miss World contest, was delighted to learn of the rival organization's decision. He told Fox TV, "Well, I own Miss Universe, so I'm actually very happy about it—because if Miss World doesn't have bikinis their ratings go right down the tubes."

Miss Earth contest

Vida Samadzai was the 2003 Afghani contestant for the Miss Earth title. She was severely condemned by the both Afghan authorities and community for seeking the title. Samadzai was born in Afghanistan but raised in the United States. She was living in India at the time of the contest. The Afghan Supreme Court banned swimsuit contests and said that appearing naked in beauty contests is completely un-Islamic, and is against Afghan tradition, human honour and dignity. Habiba Sarabi, the Afghan women affairs minister, said Samadzai's semi-naked appearance "is not women's freedom but in my opinion is to entertain men". Afghanistan's embassy in Washington DC declared that claims by Afghan American Samadzai to represent Afghanistan is baseless. Samadzai, the second woman to be crowned Miss Afghanistan after Zohra Daoud's crowning in 1972, received a number of death threats and had to be under the protection of FBI for three months. She said she was a bit uncomfortable wearing the "70s style red bikini" and was aware of the risks involved.

Children's bikini contest

Miss Tanguita, which translates as "Miss Child Bikini", is held in Barbosa, Santader, Colombia as annual part of the "del Rio Suarez" Festival. The organisers deny the allegations that the competition is a camouflage for sexual exploitation, and instead describe it as an awareness event about the importance of children's fitness. Activists say that the competition, though legal, abuses the human rights of minors.

Miss Teen USA

Beginning in 2016, the Miss Teen USA pageant removed the swimsuit competition and replaced it with an athleticwear round.