Miss World 2014 Cancels Swimsuit Segment
Organizers of the annual Miss World pageant have announced the cancellation of the swimsuit segment of the competition. They said that the pageant is more about outreach and the swimsuit section does not have a "purpose".
"The organization has decided to take itself out of the swimsuit world because it isn't the path they're trying to take," said Chris Wilmer, the national director of Miss World America/Miss United States organization according to ABC News. "It's not just a beauty contest, it's 'beauty with a purpose'. There didn't seem to be a purpose to have the swimsuit."
"Miss World should be a spokesperson who can help a community. She's more of an ambassador, not a beauty queen. It's more about the outreach and what a woman could do with a title like Miss World," Wilmer added.
Miss World, the oldest international beauty pageant, was originally called the Festival Bikini Contest and was established in England in 1951 by Eric Morley, who wanted to lift spirits following the end of Second World War, writes Vogue. The bikini was replaced with a more modest swimsuit after the contest drew complaints, and the segment of the show has existed ever since.
Organizer Julia Morley gave further explanation as to why the section is being ditched.
"I don't need to see women just walking up and down in bikinis, it doesn't do anything for the woman, and it doesn't do anything for any of us," she told Elle according to Daily Nation.
"I don't care if someone has a bottom two inches bigger than someone else's. We are really not looking at her bottom. We are really listening to her speak."
