Is the Miss America Contest Worth Watching Anymore?

Did anyone happen to catch the 2008 Miss America show? Well if you did and you're like me, then I'm sure you were left scratching your head wondering what the heck went wrong. Miss America was created in 1921 to provide personal and professional opportunities for young women in order to promote their voices in culture, politics and the community. The winner is supposed to be a representative for young women to express their views, talents, and platforms.

And let's not forget the all important scholarships which in theory are what make the Miss America pageant different from the other 'beauty contests'. It's not supposed to be just a beauty contest but rather one that promotes education. After all most of the contestants have either received, or are in the process of earning college or postgraduate degrees and utilize Miss America scholarship grants to further their education. This is why the Miss America contest is the one that mothers don't mind their daughters watching. It's OK for a woman to prance around in a bathing suit, being judged by how she looks in it no less, if she winds up getting a scholarship in the end.

Miss America is the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance but this year the contest was less about education, the contestants' points of view, their intelligence or talent and more about how they looked. The show had apparently become less and less popular over the years so they decided that this year would be different. This year they thought they would bring the Miss America contest into the 21^st century by treating it like every other reality show out there. So in addition to the contestants being objectified they could now add 'reality star' to their resume. Just when we thought this contest was different, a staple from the past that we could rely on, they had to go and change it and in my opinion, ruin it.