Miss America's swimsuit section dumped

  • 06/06/2018

Miss America is ditching its swimsuit section.

The next edition of the renowned event will be the first to not feature models strutting their stuff in togs in nearly 100 years.

"We're changing out of our swimsuits and into a whole new era," announced the official Miss America Twitter account, along with the hashtag #byebyebikini.

Instead of being a beauty pageant, the event will now be a competition, says Miss America Organisation chairwoman Gretchen Carlson.

"We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance. We are moving it forward and evolving it in this cultural revolution," Ms Carlson said on Good Morning America.

"I've talked to tonnes of young people who've said to me, 'I'd love to be a part of that programme, but I don't want to parade around in a swimsuit.' I get it."

She also said the competition will be more inclusive to women of "all shapes and sizes".

Ms Carlson was made chairwoman of the organisation in January when several other women were appointed to Miss America Organisation's highest ranks after it was embroiled in a #TimesUp scandal.

In leaked emails, former chief executive Sam Haskell and Miss America pageant telecast lead writer Lewis Friedman joked about officially labelling former Miss America's as "c**ts".

In place of the swimsuit contest, the Miss America competition will now feature contestants taking part in a live interactive session with the judges. Each 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".

The next national Miss America contest is set to take place in September.

Newshub.