美國小姐選美取消泳裝環節:不以外表評判人

For the first time in nearly a century, Miss America contestants will not strut onstage in swimsuits this year, the organizers announced on Tuesday, as the pageant tries to redefine its role in an era of female empowerment and gender equality.

美國小姐(Miss America)選美大賽的主辦方於週二宣佈，今年的選手不會穿泳裝走臺，這是近一個世紀以來的第一次。在一個女性賦權和性別平等的時代，美國小姐比賽正試圖重新定義自己的角色。

Miss America and swimsuits have been synonymous since its first contest in 1921 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1921年在大西洋城木板人行道上舉行第一場比賽以來，美國小姐比賽和泳裝一直是同義詞。但起初，參賽者穿的是連體泳衣，按今天的標準來看頗爲保守，後來變成了穿着暴露的比基尼和高跟鞋走來走去，吸引電視機前色眯眯的觀衆。

Now under mostly female leadership, the Miss America Organization said Tuesday that it was scrapping the swimsuit competition, starting at the national contest in September, in a sweeping change that will also reshape local and state contests.

美國小姐大賽組織(Miss America Organization)週二宣佈，將從9月的全國比賽開始取消泳裝比賽。這一重大變化也將重塑地方和州一級的選美比賽。現在，該組織的領導層中大部分是女性。

“I’ve talked to tons of young people who’ve said to me, ‘I’d love to be a part of that program, but I don’t want to parade around in a swimsuit,'” Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News anchor who is now the organization’s chairwoman, said in an interview. “I get it.”

“我和很多年輕人談過，他們對我說，‘我想參加比賽，但我不想穿着泳衣到處走，’”曾是福克斯新聞(Fox News)的主播，現在是美國小姐大賽組織主席的格雷琴·卡爾森(Gretchen Carlson)在接受採訪時說。“我明白了。”

The organization, confronting its own harassment scandal and searching for its place in the #MeToo era, had worked on the new format for several months. The nine members of the board of directors — seven are now women — unanimously approved the change in March. It was kept a secret until two days ago, when state directors and former Miss Americas were informed.

該組織正在應對自己的騷擾醜聞，並尋找自己在#MeToo（我也是）時代的位置。在此之前，它用了幾個月時間制定新的比賽形式。3月，董事會的九名成員——現在七人是女性——一致批准了這項改變。此事一直處於保密狀態，直到兩天前州董事和前美國小姐收到通知。

Carlson, who assumed a prominent voice for women’s rights in the workplace after filing a harassment lawsuit in 2016 against the former Fox chairman Roger Ailes, said the competition would focus more on the contestants’ talents, intelligence and ideas.

卡爾森說，比賽會更加註重選手的才華、智力和想法。她爲職場女性權益高調發聲，2016年還曾對福克斯前主席羅傑·艾爾斯(Roger Ailes)提起騷擾訴訟。

“We are not going to judge you on your outward appearance,” Carlson, who was Miss America in 1989, said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. “We are moving it forward and evolving it in this cultural revolution.”

“我們不會以你的外表來評判你，”卡爾森週二在ABC的《早安美國》(Good Morning America)節目上說。“在這場文化革命中，我們正推動它向前發展。”她本人是1989年的美國小姐。

The changes will be immediate for Miss America, but will take longer to arrive at local and state events, Carlson confirmed. Since state contests are underway, they will not adopt the new format until after the national competition in September.

卡爾森證實，這些變化對美國小姐大賽的影響是直接的，但要影響到地方和州一級的比賽，還需要更長的時間。由於州一級的比賽正在進行中，它們要到9月的全國大賽之後纔會採取新的形式。

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.

過去六個月裏，美國小姐大賽組織經歷了一場迅速的變革。卡爾森在1月被任命爲主席，多位女性進入該組織的高層。

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. Miss America is also confronting dwindling viewership as people turn away from live televised events.

在發生這些變化之前，去年12月，多封電子郵件顯示，該組織的前首席執行官薩姆·哈斯凱爾(Sam Haskell)對以前的比賽冠軍發表過不敬和歧視女性的言論。美國小姐還面臨觀衆減少的問題，因爲人們不再關注在電視上直播的活動。

Miss America started as a beachside beauty pageant in 1921 in an effort by Atlantic City to extend the summer vacation season. At the first competition, the top finisher was crowned Miss America and a runner-up received the swimsuit trophy.

美國小姐起初是大西洋城在1921年爲延長夏季假期而在海邊舉行的一場選美比賽。在第一屆比賽中，冠軍被授予“美國小姐”稱號，亞軍獲得泳衣作爲獎品。

Over the decades, the Miss America Organization struggled to reconcile its stated mission — empowering women and handing out millions of dollars in scholarships — with requiring contestants to wear revealing attire.

美國小姐大賽組織宣傳自己的使命是賦權女性和發放數百萬美元的獎學金，在長達幾十年的時間裏，它難以調和這一使命和要求參賽者穿暴露服裝的做法。

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.

該組織的領導者聲稱要對泳裝比賽做出改變已經有20多年。然而，直到最近他們還在繼續爲此辯護，稱該比賽的目的是在不舒適的情況下能夠保持優雅，強調健康而非苗條。

In last year’s edition of the instruction manual for state-level judges, the organization noted that many view the swimsuit portion as exploitative. “It is the Miss America Organization’s belief that those who feel that way really don’t understand the competition itself,” it said. “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.”

在去年各州的評委指導手冊中，該組織指出，許多人認爲泳裝這部分是剝削性的。“美國小姐大賽組織認爲，有這種感覺的人並不真正瞭解競賽本身，”手冊寫道。“不論我們各自對美國小姐獲獎者的角色可能會有何種想法，美國大衆都期望她會是漂亮且身體健康的。”

Yet some former contestants have spoken out against the swimsuit competition, saying it led to serious physical and mental problems. Kirsten Haglund, who was Miss America in 2008, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that the swimsuit portion “perpetuated the objectification of women more than it empowered them.”

但一些曾經參加比賽的選手公開表達了對泳裝比賽的反對，稱其會導致嚴重的身體和心理問題。2008年的美國小姐克里斯滕·哈格倫德(Kirsten Haglund)週二在Facebook上寫道，泳裝部分“延續了對女性的物化，而非賦予她們更多力量”。

The directors of the Miss America state contests, who were told of the changes two days ago, offered a range of reactions to the announcement, with some welcoming it and others expressing dismay. On Twitter, the Miss Georgia pageant reassured fans that its contest next week will still include swimsuits.

美國小姐的州競賽負責人們在兩天前得知了這一變化，他們對該公告的反應不一。一些人表示支持，另一些人則表達了失望。在Twitter上，佐治亞州小姐比賽向粉絲們承諾，將於下週進行的比賽將依然包含泳裝部分。

“It’s discouraging to hear, I was definitely a proponent of it,” said Chaz Ellis, the interim executive director of the Miss South Carolina Scholarship Organization, adding that he supported the national group despite the changes. “It’s about physical fitness, it’s about a healthy lifestyle.”

“聽到這個消息讓人沮喪，我肯定是它的支持者，”南卡羅來納小姐獎學金組織的臨時執行董事夏茨·埃利斯(Chaz Ellis)說，並補充說，儘管有所改變，他仍然支持全國組織的決定。“這是關於身體健康的，關注的是健康的生活方式。”

Not everyone in the pageant world, however, agreed that the swimsuit portion was entirely about judging fitness. “I don’t know if that’s completely honest or accurate,” said Leah Summers, the executive director of the Miss West Virginia Scholarship Organization, who won that state’s title in 1991.

在選美圈子裏，並非所有人都同意泳裝部分完全是對健康的評判。“我不知道這是否完全誠實或準確，”曾在1991年獲得西弗吉尼亞小姐頭銜，現爲該獎學金組織執行董事的利亞·薩默斯(Leah Summers)說。

Summers said she anticipated “pretty dramatic changes” from the national organization after the appointment of a new chairwoman and new female board members. She said the new leaders are trying to keep Miss America relevant.

薩默斯表示，在新的主席和女性董事會成員上任後，全國組織內有了“非常戲劇性的變化”在她的意料之中。她說，新的領導人在努力維繫美國小姐存在的意義。

And, she noted, the news would no doubt bring contestants a measure of relief. “There’s something to be said about not having to think about walking across a stage in a bikini,” she said.

並且，她指出，這個消息對參賽者來說是一種解脫。“不需要考慮穿着比基尼走過舞臺是有好處的，”她說。

Beth Knox, executive director of the Miss North Carolina Scholarship Pageant, said that she was thrilled at the development: A woman’s goals and aspirations were far more important than how she looked in a swimsuit.

北卡羅來納小姐獎學金選美比賽的執行董事貝斯·諾克斯(Beth Knox)說，她爲這一發展感到激動：女性的目標和志向遠比她穿泳裝的模樣重要得多。

“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,” Knox wrote in an email.

“如果人們真的能以開放的心態傾聽實施這個改變的原因，我想不到還有誰會不支持它，”諾克斯在郵件中寫道。