說到選美比賽，你的眼前一定已經(jīng)浮現(xiàn)起一些固定環(huán)節(jié)，比如泳裝秀、晚禮服秀和才智問答。可以說，穿著泳裝踩著高跟鞋走秀是大多數(shù)人心目中選美的代名詞。

不過，美利堅(jiān)小姐選美比賽主辦方正打算對(duì)這套成熟的范式做出突破性的變革。

The nearly century-old Miss America competition will drop its well-known swimsuit competition this year and will no longer judge contestants based on their physical appearance.

擁有近百年歷史的美利堅(jiān)小姐大賽今年將取消其著名的泳裝比賽環(huán)節(jié)，不再以外貌評(píng)判選手。

"We are no longer a pageant, we are a competition. We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance. That's huge," Gretchen Carlson, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Miss America Organization said Tuesday on ABC News' "Good Morning America."

6月5日，大賽董事會(huì)主席格雷琴?卡爾森在ABC新聞臺(tái)《早安美國》節(jié)目中表示：“美利堅(jiān)小姐不再是一場選美，而是一場比賽。我們將不再以貌取人。這個(gè)改變具有重要意義。”

當(dāng)天，美利堅(jiān)小姐官方推特也做出回應(yīng)。他們發(fā)布了一段白色比基尼的視頻，然后加上了#byebyebikini 的標(biāo)簽。

The swimsuit competition will be replaced by a panel interview of contestants.

美利堅(jiān)小姐的泳裝比賽環(huán)節(jié)將被分組問答環(huán)節(jié)取代。

參賽選手可以介紹自己的成就和目標(biāo)，并闡述倘若當(dāng)選美利堅(jiān)小姐，會(huì)如何運(yùn)用自己的才華與熱忱“不辱使命”。

The evening-wear portion of the competition will also be changed to allow women to wear something other than a gown if they want.

晚裝環(huán)節(jié)也有所改變，除晚禮服外，將允許選手根據(jù)個(gè)人意愿穿著其他服飾。

主辦方將改制后的比賽稱為“美利堅(jiān)小姐2.0”?？柹Q，大賽將多多關(guān)注選手的才華、智慧和想法，對(duì)不同身材、不同體型的女性也將持開放態(tài)度。

美利堅(jiān)小姐與泳裝的淵源

第一屆美利堅(jiān)小姐誕生于1921年，參選佳麗由美國各州選出。當(dāng)時(shí)主辦方的初衷不過是為了多吸引幾個(gè)游客到海灘游玩，延長暑假氣氛。這一嘗試立竿見影，比賽當(dāng)天有10萬余觀眾來到現(xiàn)場觀看。

Miss America and swimsuits have been synonymous since its first contest on the Atlantic City boardwalk. But what started as contestants wearing one-piece bathing suits, conservative by today's standards, became women in revealing bikinis and high heels parading around for a leering television audience.

自在大西洋城木板人行道上舉行第一場比賽以來，美利堅(jiān)小姐和泳裝一直是同義詞。起初，參賽者穿的是連體泳衣，但按今天的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來看頗為保守，后來變成了穿著暴露的比基尼和高跟鞋走來走去，吸引電視機(jī)前色瞇瞇的觀眾。

【科普】

這里需要說明的是，美國有兩個(gè)“美國小姐”選美比賽。一個(gè)叫做Miss USA，一個(gè)叫做Miss America。選美界一般把Miss USA稱之為美國小姐，而Miss America稱作美利堅(jiān)小姐。

Miss America and Miss USA have long positioned themselves as different pageants. Miss USA is a for-profit show-business enterprise focused on beauty and whose contestants typically reveal more skin and do not have to perform a talent. Miss America is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization with affiliates in 50 states and in the District of Columbia.

這兩個(gè)選美比賽的定位一直是不同的。美國小姐是一個(gè)專注于外在美的盈利性商業(yè)表演活動(dòng)，參賽者通常衣著更加暴露，且無需展現(xiàn)才藝。而美利堅(jiān)小姐是一個(gè)非營利性志愿組織，在美國50個(gè)州以及哥倫比亞都有分支機(jī)構(gòu)。

美利堅(jiān)小姐更注重內(nèi)在美，設(shè)有才藝展示環(huán)節(jié)，參賽者大多為學(xué)生。

#MeToo運(yùn)動(dòng)中選美比賽迎來新時(shí)代

近年來隨著女性平權(quán)意識(shí)的覺醒，美利堅(jiān)小姐比賽一直備受爭議。一方面，他們鼓勵(lì)女性積極向上有所追求，還給優(yōu)勝者發(fā)放獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金；一方面又規(guī)定參賽選手一定要穿著暴露展示自己。

The organization's leaders have said for more than 20 years they had thought about altering the swimsuit competition. Until recently, though, they continued to defend it, asserting that the competition is about poise in uncomfortable situations and fitness, not thinness.

20多年來，該組織的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者一直聲稱要對(duì)泳裝比賽做出改變。然而，直到最近他們還在繼續(xù)為此辯護(hù)，稱該比賽的目的是在不舒適的情況下能夠保持優(yōu)雅，強(qiáng)調(diào)健康而非苗條。

美利堅(jiān)小姐比賽在2017年各州的評(píng)委指導(dǎo)手冊(cè)中指出：

"Regardless of what we may each believe about the role of the Miss America Organization's titleholders, the American public has an expectation that she will be beautiful and physically fit."

“不論我們每個(gè)人對(duì)美利堅(jiān)小姐獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)叩慕巧赡軙?huì)有何種想法，美國大眾都期望她是漂亮且身體健康的?！?/p>

但一些曾經(jīng)參加比賽的選手公開表達(dá)了對(duì)泳裝比賽的反對(duì)，稱其會(huì)導(dǎo)致嚴(yán)重的身體和心理問題。

2008年美利堅(jiān)小姐冠軍克里斯滕?哈格倫德（Kirsten Haglund）5日在臉書上寫道，泳裝比賽環(huán)節(jié)“延續(xù)了對(duì)女性的物化，而非賦予她們更多力量（perpetuated the objectification of women more than it empowered them）”。

事實(shí)上，主辦方也曾考慮去掉泳裝比賽，還想過讓觀眾投票決定是否保留這個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)。1993 年，美利堅(jiān)小姐比賽時(shí)任 CEO 倫納德?霍恩（Leonard Horn）曾表示：

"We are not stupid. We are very sensitive to the fact that the swimsuit competition has always been our Achilles' heel. The swimsuit competition has been controversial since the early 1920s, but it's been retained because the majority of the people like it."

“我們并不愚蠢，我們深知泳裝比賽是我們的致命弱點(diǎn)。自從上世紀(jì)20年代初以來，這個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)就一直備受爭議。但因?yàn)楹芏嗳讼矚g看，所以它才一直保留了下來?！?/p>

據(jù)《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》報(bào)道，1995 年的一項(xiàng)民意調(diào)查顯示，2/3 的觀眾都希望保留這個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)。

不少人猜測，美利堅(jiān)小姐比賽此次下定決心進(jìn)行改革，是為了應(yīng)對(duì)內(nèi)部的性騷擾丑聞，并重新定義自己在#MeToo時(shí)代的位置。

The Miss America Organization has undergone a rapid change in the past six months. Carlson was named chairwoman in January, and several women were appointed to the organization's highest ranks.

過去六個(gè)月里，美利堅(jiān)小姐比賽組織經(jīng)歷了一場迅速的變革。今年1月，卡爾森被任命為大賽主席，多位女性進(jìn)入組織高層。

卡爾森曾是美國知名電視評(píng)論員，代表明尼蘇達(dá)州獲得1989年美利堅(jiān)小姐桂冠。近年來，她為職場女性權(quán)益高調(diào)發(fā)聲，2016年還對(duì)?？怂骨爸飨_杰?艾爾斯（Roger Ailes）提起性騷擾訴訟。

Those changes came after emails surfaced in December showing that Sam Haskell, the former chief executive, had made disrespectful and misogynistic comments about former pageant winners.

在美利堅(jiān)小姐發(fā)生這些變化之前，去年12月，多封電子郵件顯示，該組織的前首席執(zhí)行官薩姆?哈斯凱爾對(duì)以前的比賽冠軍發(fā)表過不敬和歧視女性的言論。

各方反應(yīng)

美利堅(jiān)小姐的州競賽負(fù)責(zé)人們?cè)趦商烨暗弥烁母锵?，他們?duì)該公告的反應(yīng)不一。一些人表示支持，另一些人則表達(dá)了失望。

佐治亞州小姐選美比賽主辦方在推特上向粉絲們承諾，將于下周進(jìn)行的比賽依然包含泳裝比賽環(huán)節(jié)。

北卡羅來納小姐選美比賽的執(zhí)行董事貝斯?諾克斯（Beth Knox）說，她為這一發(fā)展感到激動(dòng)：女性的目標(biāo)和志向遠(yuǎn)比她穿泳裝的模樣重要得多（A woman's goals and aspirations were far more important than how she looked in a swimsuit.）。

諾克斯在郵件中寫道：

"If people really listen with an open mind to the reason this change is being implemented, I just do not see how anyone could not support this improvement."

“如果人們能以開放的心態(tài)傾聽做出這個(gè)改變的原因，我想不會(huì)有人反對(duì)這個(gè)決定?！?

目前還不清楚廣告商們對(duì)這一變化的態(tài)度。但《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》認(rèn)為，廣告行業(yè)應(yīng)該比較樂見這種改變。報(bào)道稱：

“The industry has been working in recent years to improve how women are portrayed on TV both in commercials and in programming. The Association of National Advertisers has led an effort called #SeeHer that has been assigning scores to ads and some shows based on whether women are depicted respectfully and as good role models for other women and young girls. ”

“近年來廣告業(yè)一直在努力改進(jìn)廣告和電視節(jié)目對(duì)女性形象的描繪。全美廣告商協(xié)會(huì)還專門發(fā)起了名為#SeeHer 的活動(dòng)，根據(jù)廣告或節(jié)目內(nèi)容是否尊重女性，塑造的女性形象是否為其他女性和年輕女孩樹立良好榜樣對(duì)其進(jìn)行打分?！?/p>

#SeeHer活動(dòng)主席史蒂芬?奎因（ Stephen Quinn）對(duì)該報(bào)表示，他們堅(jiān)決支持美利堅(jiān)小姐做出的改變。

來源：紐約時(shí)報(bào)，好奇心日?qǐng)?bào)，商業(yè)內(nèi)幕網(wǎng)

編譯：董靜

審校：yaning