Special Report: A New Era for Miss America

There have been many questions swirling around the Miss America pageant community since the debut of the Miss America: Reality Check television series and the Miss America: Live! telecast. Is this a new era for Miss America? What are the judges actually looking for? What does “it girl” even mean? Have the standards for becoming Miss America changed completely? Both contestants and volunteers have found themselves wondering what this new era of Miss America will bring and what it means for them. According to Rick Brinkley, the national judges chairperson for the Miss America Organization, very little has actually changed.

The most asked question is, of course, “Has the judging criteria for Miss America changed?” The actual criteria—both the phases of competition and the percentage weight of each phase—have not changed. Contestants are still required to compete in the same phases of competition and each phase counts for just as much as it always has.

What has changed, however, is the job description for being Miss America. Every year, the Miss America Organization sends out the latest version of the job description to every Miss America contestant and state executive director. That way, both the contestant and the director enter pageant season knowing exactly what is expected of Miss America. (Check out the sidebar for an excerpt from the current Miss America job description.)

“There really isn’t anything new in the message that the Miss America Organization put forward this year,” says Rick. “I think it’s much like being a parent, in the way that I could tell my son what he should do over and over, but he wouldn’t listen because I’m his father. The Miss America Organization has been saying the same things for over a decade and now that the ‘experts’ on the TLC reality show said it, suddenly people started paying attention.”

FASHION

The panel of experts on Miss America: Reality Check had many comments to make about the make up, hairstyles, and clothing choices of the 2008 Miss America contestants. According to Rick, it’s not anything he hasn’t heard before.

“I think what people are reacting to is the same information I’ve heard coming from the Miss America offices for at least the last ten years,” says Rick.

When it comes to fashion, Rick counsels both contestants and volunteers to take a more thoughtful approach to choosing a wardrobe.

“Fashion is about image. It is not about substance. A contestant should first decide what kind of image she wants to present to the judges panel. That image should truly reflect who she is. If she is trying to present a false image, it will come through to the judges loud and clear,” says Rick.

It is easy within the Miss America pageant community to try and mimic the clothing and hairstyles of successful contestants in an effort to create more success. This line of thinking has brought us the infamous “Shandi” dress and the typical pageant hairstyle that consists of long, layered hair. However, Rick cautions that just because a contestant wins with a particular hairstyle or dress doesn’t mean that those styles should be copied.

“Let’s say a contestant wins a state or national title. The judges may have hated everything the contestant wore, plus her hair and make up, but knew she was the one for the job,” says Rick. “But contestants start to duplicate what they see winning and state directors do the same, because they somehow believe the wardrobe of last year’s winner is what they are ‘looking for.’ So the contestants the next year, dress like the contestant who won before, not knowing that the judges panel may have hated those clothes.”

Contestants and volunteers looking to impress a judges panel are encouraged to shop outside the box and choose a wardrobe that is truly reflective of the contestant. Most importantly, all contestants and volunteers should remember that while fashion and image are important, they do not make or break a pageant performance.

“While wardrobe is about image, it can never make up for substance, and Miss America will always have substance,” says Rick. “If you don’t have the elements that it takes to win, wearing the ‘right clothes’ will never win you a title. I can assure you that no judge is going to allow a wardrobe choice to determine who they are selecting as Miss America.”

TALENT

Contestants can follow the same advice in choosing their talent selection. It is important to be contemporary and true to yourself at the same time.

“So many times we focus on a contemporary song,” says Rick. “However, I think we should focus on a contemporary performance. Let’s face it: there aren’t too many arias that have been written in the last twenty years. To ask an opera singer to perform a contemporary song is a bit ridiculous. However, I have seen some opera singers give a very contemporary, relevant to today, performance and the audience loved it. The same can be said for any talent.”

JUDGES
Many contestants may be skeptical that if they wander from the standard pageant choices in talent, wardrobe, and hairstyle, that they may not find themselves in the winner’s circle at competitions. Rick encourages those people judging local and state pageants in the upcoming season to be mindful of how they are judging.

“The best advice I can give anyone judging this year is to check themselves throughout the pageant to make sure you aren’t penalizing a contestant because she doesn’t fit inside your pageant box. If a judge is still looking for a winner who looks like and presents herself like the contestant he judged decades ago, it will be difficult for that judge to make the transition. The contestants should be not be the ones to pay the price because a judge has not kept up with the times,” says Rick.

BE TRUE TO YOURSELF

Contestants in the upcoming state pageant season have an exciting opportunity before them. They are all encouraged to look outside the stereotypical pageant box to find a style that truly exemplifies who they are. This will be a nerve wracking and liberating process for everyone involved. In the end, however, it is a contestant’s ability to do a job that is most important.

“The one thing I have seen time and time again is that the contestants who rise to the top are those who know who they are and are comfortable in their own skin. As long as a contestant is trying to be what she thinks the judges are looking for, she will never win. Don’t feel trapped by what you think is expected in the pageant world. I know it will be difficult. I know many contestants will be afraid to step outside of what is traditionally acceptable. I can assure all of them that as long as they possess the qualities and attributes it takes to be a state winner, they judges will see it,” says Rick.

While this new era of Miss America may be confusing and trying for some, it is clear that the Miss America Organization is not looking for contestants to change the essence of who they are. They are looking for contestants to show their true colors in every way that they can. The judging process of local, state, and national pageants will remain the same.

The job of choosing Miss America and the job of actually being Miss America are positions that the Miss America Organization does not take lightly. While the packaging may change slightly in the next few years, it is clear that the Miss America Organization holds both its judges panel and its chosen Miss America to the highest of standards. That, thankfully, will never go out of style.

Sidebar: Miss America’s Job Description

She must represent the best of contemporary women between the ages of 17 and 24 in her look as well as in her dress, mannerisms, and demeanor. The youth of our nation must be able to find her as someone to whom they can relate; but, at the same time, she must present a professional image when called upon to meet with corporate sponsors, elected officials, and leaders in the different communities she serves. Her charisma and dynamic personality must come through in every encounter she has as Miss America. She must be a woman who possesses that “it” factor that everyone recognizes, but finds hard to define. In order to accomplish these tasks, she must be comfortable in her own skin, confident, perceived as “real” and “natural,” and she must be true to whom she is as a person.

Sidebar: A Moment with Rick Brinkley.

Rick Brinkley has been a volunteer with the Miss America Organization for twenty-seven years. In that time, he has had many surprises.

“The things that surprised me the most in taking this job were how deeply honored people are to be asked to judge Miss America and the integrity of the judging process at the national level. Very few people we ask to judge Miss America have a pageant background, but it makes you smile to hear them say over and over again how honored and shocked they were to be asked to judge. It has been very humbling to see how ‘outsiders’ value our organization and their place in its history. Likewise, as a volunteer, I was completely unaware of how sequestered the judges are from the outside world and how the auditing firm Earnst and Young monitors the entire process. Everyone in the organization prides themselves on the ‘beyond reproach’ attitude regarding the judging process. Having now spent thirty years in this organization, my proudest moments were watching the way the national judging process was handled.”