Below is an excerpt from an article published in “Her Campus” by Jesse Craig, a senior in the English program at the University of Utah and current Miss Timpanogos titleholder.
There she is…Miss America! The iconic competition just took place last night with Miss North Dakota, Cara Mund, taking home the crown. While it’s so much fun betting on different states, fan-girling at the different evening gowns, and judging the contestants’ onstage questions, there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes than people realize. Because most of the world only views the annual live broadcast of Miss America, a lot of assumptions are made about the organization that are generally untrue or only partially true. It’s time to debunk those myths and share what women in the Miss America Organization wish you knew.
1. We believe in being healthy, and not in starving ourselves.
A common stereotype about girls who compete in the MAO is that they starve themselves to be skinny…and that is definitely not the case. The swimsuit competition’s official title is “Lifestyle and Fitness,” and the stated purpose of the competition is to showcase the competitor’s physical, emotional, and intellectual health; the competition’s objective is to determine which contestant loves and takes care of her body.
“I can honestly say that I have never once starved myself while competing in this organization. I focus on eating a balanced diet with carbs, fats, and protein, and I do my best to maintain it all year round. But if I’m feeling like a cheeseburger…then I’m going to eat a cheeseburger.” – Miss Timpanogos 2018
Continue reading at HerCampus.com.