A 25-year-old woman is objecting to the long-established rules of the Miss America and Miss World beauty pageants that deem mothers ineligible to compete.
On Monday, Danielle Hazel of New York spoke next to the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument located in Central Park. She told the audience about her dream to participate in the pageants, only to find out she was prohibited from competing because she had a son.
“I did not want or plan to give up on my dreams of being a part of a pageant and representing my country or my aspirations after I became a mother,” she said. “But I actually felt more motivated because of having my son, to make him proud and to be able to represent other mothers.”
“When I told Zion, who is now six years old, about these rules, he had an immediate gut reaction: He said that these rules are stupid,” said Hazel. “His sense of fairness at only six years old tells him that this is unjust and makes no sense.”
Hazel’s attorney, Gloria Allred, said a discrimination complaint filed with New York City’s Commission on Human Rights looks to remove the requirements because they bar mothers from an “important business and cultural opportunity” merely due to their parental status.
“We believe that these eligibility requirements discriminate against women who are parents,” Allred said. “As we stated in Danielle’s filed complaint, this exclusion is degrading to Danielle as it is based upon the antiquated stereotype that women cannot be both a mother and be beautiful, poised, passionate, talented, and philanthropic.”
The Response
An attorney for Miss America, Stuart Moskovitz, says there is “no ban against mothers” under the organization, stating Hazel and Allred’s complaint is “not factually accurate.”“The only ban is against potential contestants with legal dependents,” Moskovitz told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“In other words, if you are responsible for the daily welfare of the child, that welfare must take precedence over wishing to compete in the contest. The rule has nothing to do with any attack on motherhood. It is solely to protect the welfare of minors dependent on their legal guardians.”
“Someone who is a mother who has no responsibility for the child (for example, someone who gave up custody or the child for adoption, etc.) is not banned.”
Moskovitz stated that “protecting the welfare of children” is consistent with the organization’s standards, which may cause conflicts with those who disagree.
“Miss America is not on the same plane as ‘similar beauty pageants.’ To begin with, Miss America, unlike other contests, is not a ‘beauty pageant.’ Physical attractiveness is not even one of the categories scored by the judges. Poise, talent, intelligence, personality are characteristics that are prized,” he said.
The national director of Miss World America, Ekta Saini, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that United Kingdom officials of the organization have the final say.
