SALT LAKE CITY — Though Meganne Ferrel felt she was a good candidate for the position of Miss Utah when she competed for the title in 2017, she was repeatedly told it was impossible to win if she didn’t wear a bikini.
“Since this was against what I wanted to do from a religious standpoint, I had to sacrifice my chance for the title so that I could uphold that. I was happy to do that, but … I feel like (the swimsuit competition) was outdated,” she said.
Though she believes the Miss America pageant system can help empower young women, the swimsuit portion conflicted with that ideology, Ferrel said. When Miss America chairwoman Gretchen Carlson announced Tuesday morning that the nationwide Miss America pageant would officially retire the swimsuit and evening gown competitions, Ferrel was ecstatic with the changes.
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