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Miss America is a Scholarship Pageant that is held annually and is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 24. Originating in 1921, the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews in addition to their physical appearance. It is run by the ''Miss America Organization'', a not-for-profit corporation based in Linwood, New Jersey, which has developed the "Miss America Scholarship Program", which awards educational scholarships to successful competitors.〔(Become a Contestant )〕 The stated purpose of the contest is that it "provides young women with a vehicle to further their personal and professional goals and instills a spirit of community service through a variety of unique nationwide community-based programs". Miss America travels about 20,000 miles a month, changing her location every 24 to 48 hours, touring the nation and promoting her particular platform of interest. The current title-holder, Miss America 2016, is Miss Georgia 2015, Betty Cantrell who was crowned on September 13, 2015, by her predecessor Kira Kazantsev (Miss America 2015). == Overview == The origins of the ''Miss America Pageant'' lie in a 1920 event entitled ''The Fall Frolic''. Held on September 25 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the event was designed to bring business to the Boardwalk: "three hundred and fifty gaily decorated rolling wicker chairs were pushed along the parade route. Three hundred and fifty men pushed the chairs. However, the main attractions were the young 'maidens' who sat in the rolling chairs, headed by a Miss Ernestine Cremona, who was dressed in a flowing white robe and represented "Peace." 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=People & Events: The First Miss America Beauty Pageant, 1921 )〕 The event was so successful that ''The Businessmen's League'' planned to repeat it the following year as a beauty pageant or a "bather's revue" 〔 (to capitalize on the popularity of newspaper-based beauty contests that used photo submissions).〔 Thus, "newspapers as far west as Pittsburgh and as far south as Washington, D.C., were asked to sponsor local beauty contests. The winners would participate in the Atlantic City contest. If the local newspaper would pay for the winner's wardrobe, the Atlantic City Businessmen's League would pay for the contestant's travel to compete in the ''Inter-City Beauty Contest''."〔 Herb Test, a "newspaperman" coined the term for the winner as, "Miss America."〔 On September 8, 1921, 100,000 people gathered at the Boardwalk to watch the contestants from Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Ocean City, Camden, Newark, New York, and Philadelphia.〔 The 16-year-old winner from Washington D.C., Margaret Gorman was crowned the "Golden Mermaid" and won $100.〔 The pageant continued consistently over the next eight decades except for the years 1929–1933, when it was temporarily shut down due to financial problems associated with the Great Depression and suggestions that it promoted "loose morals."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Miss America Timeline: 1901–1950 )〕 With its revival in 1933, 15-year-old Marian Bergeron won, prompting future contestants to be between the ages of 18 to 26.〔 In 1935, Lenora Slaughter was hired to "re-invent" the pageant and served for 32 years as its Director.〔 By 1938, a talent section was added to the competition, and contestants were required to have a chaperone.〔 In 1940, the title officially became "The Miss America Pageant" and the pageant was held in Atlantic City's Convention Hall.〔 In 1944, compensation for "Miss America" switched from "furs and movie contracts" to college scholarships.〔 During the early years of the pageant, under the directorship of Lenora Slaughter, it became segregated via rule number seven that stated: "contestants must be of good health and of the white race."〔 Rule number seven was abolished in 1950. Miss New York 1945, Bess Myerson, to date the only Jewish American winner and Miss America 1945, faced antisemitism during her time as Miss America, leading her to cut her reign short.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=PBS American Experience: Miss America Transcript )〕 In addition, allthough there were Native American, Latina, and Asian-American contestants, there were no African-American contestants for fifty years (African-Americans appeared in musical numbers as far back as 1923, however, when they were cast as slaves).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Miss America, People & Events: Breaking the Color Line at the Pageant )〕 In 1970, however, Cheryl Browne, Miss Iowa 1970,〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Miss America, People & Events: Transcript )〕〔(List of Miss Iowa Winners )〕 competed as the first African American contestant in the Miss America 1971 pageant.〔〔〔 She also participated in one of the last USO-Miss America tours in Vietnam. A decade later in 1983, Miss New York (and Miss Syracuse) 1983, Vanessa Lynn Williams (the first African American woman to be crowned Miss America as Miss America 1984), faced discrimination in response to her win and later resigned under pressure due to a scandal involving nude photographs.〔〔 Three decades after these events, Miss New York (and Miss Syracuse) 2013, Nina Davuluri, the first Indian-American woman to win the crown as Miss America 2014, faced xenophobic and racist comments in social media when she won.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Vanessa on Valentine’s Day:The most successful Miss America in the entertainment world, Vanessa Williams brings her love of the stage to Caesars on Feb. 14. )〕 Two years later at the Miss America 2016 pageant, Miss America CEO Sam Haskell apologized to Vanessa Williams (who was serving as head judge) for what was said to her during the events of 1984. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Miss America」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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