The Miss America Pageant began in the early 1920s as a way to attract tourists to Atlantic City past Labor Day. Cities in the Northeast would send "beauty maids" to represent them in the contest where they were judged solely on appearance. In other words, this pageant began as a way to lure in tourists by having a bunch of half-naked, [society's version of] beautiful girls walk across a stage. I can understand how this was acceptable at the time, women had just began gaining rights. After generations and generations of being told that their sole purpose was to care for men, and their opinion was irrelevant, it was difficult to readjust their mindset. Obviously, women had yet to discover all of their potential.

But now, it's 2015, why is Miss America still a thing?!

Maybe it is my inner-feminist or maybe I am missing the bigger picture, but I think this pageant disregards everything women have worked so hard for. Women now work full time jobs, have the right to vote, are educated and are treated with the same respect as men (at least they are supposed to be). Therefore, I don't understand how women are willing to walk across a stage with a face full of make-up, hair drenched in hair spray as they show off their perfectly proportionate bodies.

What happened to those who are short? Plump? Those who wear glasses? Why don't men have a Mr. America Pageant? It just doesn't make sense to me.

I understand people religiously defend the Miss America Pageant because it gives women the opportunity to win a scholarship, and I agree that is a wonderful thing. Of course, there are categories that allow women to express their talents and their visions for the world. Those are excellent ways to prove that they are the perfect candidates for the scholarship. But there is one thing I am confused about -- how does showing off their extremely long legs and their tiny waist in the bikini category have anything to do with winning a scholarship?

The typical stereotype for Miss America is a beautiful airhead and that is everything that is wrong with this pageant. In order to disregard any possible stereotypes, the pageant should focus more on the woman's intellect than her bikini body and princess wave. The education and future plans of the women should be discussed in depth and emphasized throughout the contest. In order for this pageant to respect women the way they deserve to be, their waist line should not be a concern.

Women are capable of being intelligent, driven, and successful without makeup and without incredibly high heels -- let's not forget that.