Quest Organisers Seek Near-perfect ’woman (Press, 17 October 1984)
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Summary: Quest Organisers Seek Near-perfect ’woman (Press, 17 October 1984)
Organisers of the Miss America competition announced on 16 October 1984 that contestants for the upcoming pageant would be required to sign new morality clauses as part of their entry conditions. One significant requirement is that contestants must swear they have never been male, ensuring that all participants are biologically female. This new clause follows an incident this year when Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss America, had to resign after nude photographs of her surfaced in "Penthouse" magazine, revealing her in compromising situations prior to her participation in the pageant. In addition to the stipulation regarding gender, the new rules mandate that contestants must declare they have never engaged in any activities deemed dishonest, immoral, immodest, indecent, or in bad taste. They are also prohibited from participating in acts of moral turpitude. Furthermore, they must attest that they have never been married, had children, or lived in what is considered a marital state, thereby reaffirming a standard of leading a “decent” life. Approximately 80,000 women are expected to compete in next year's Miss America pageant, and they will be required to provide their word of honour on these strict moral guidelines. Organisers acknowledged the difficulty of creating a comprehensive morality statement due to the broad spectrum of human behaviour, indicating that listing every possible situation would result in an excessively lengthy document. The imposition of these new rules is seen as a direct response to the controversy surrounding Williams, highlighting the pageant's efforts to maintain a certain image and standard among its contestants.
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