本月初，“美國小姐”這個搞了100多年的選美節(jié)目突然又成了人們熱議的話題，因為據(jù)舉辦方通知，本次美國小姐大賽將不再設置泳裝和禮服展示環(huán)節(jié)，很多網(wǎng)友也悵然地在社交媒體上發(fā)起了“拜拜比基尼”活動，吐槽舉辦方的這一決定。

其實，美國小姐這個百年經(jīng)典節(jié)目，現(xiàn)在早就連生存都成了問題。

在這個各路真人秀和“網(wǎng)紅”層出不窮的年代，美國小姐早已非昔日的大紅大紫。此外在1968年，就有女權主義者在亞特蘭大組織過針對美國小姐的大規(guī)模抗議活動，抨擊這個選美節(jié)目“物化女性”。自此之后，隨著越來越多的女性進入商界、學界、政界，當上律師、醫(yī)生、CEO，反對物化女性的呼聲也越來越高。

不過美國小姐也并非不能再搶救一下。筆者作為一名選秀節(jié)目研究專家，也想給美國小姐開一張藥方。

美國小姐的王冠上有四個角，分別代表了時尚、服務、學識和成功。只要不忘初心，專注在這個四個方面，美國小姐還是有希望重回往日輝煌的。

時尚

穿一套三點式，再踩一雙6英寸的恨天高，這就是時尚時尚最時尚了嗎？未必。美國小姐代表的是一種基于健康飲食、積極鍛煉而獲得的健康的生活方式，這一點時至今日仍然非常重要。美國小姐不應該徹底放棄對身材的評判，而是應該引入健身元素。很多青少年選美比賽都引入了立臥撐、俯臥撐等比賽項目，像世界小姐這種國際性選美比賽，其體育環(huán)節(jié)的激烈程度簡直快跟鐵人三項差不多了。美國小姐也可以吸取這些經(jīng)驗。

服務

美國小姐的每名參賽者必須有一個旨在關注全國性問題的個人平臺。優(yōu)勝者的平臺有的關注艾滋病教育問題，有的關注反校園霸凌問題，有的成立了許愿基金會。各州的總冠軍都在她們的平臺上做了很多工作，甚至在國會上宣了誓，為公益事業(yè)拉來了一大批贊助。在評分上，選美比賽應該更向這種“德育分”偏重。

學識

美國小姐是在美國拿女性教育基金最多的人，但并非所有參賽者都將她們的教育基金用在了教育上。2014年度的美國小姐尼娜·達瓦魯麗曾表示自己想上醫(yī)學院，但她現(xiàn)在成了一個電視節(jié)目主持人。2015年度的美國小姐基拉·卡贊謝夫說自己想上法學院，但她現(xiàn)在卻成了一位成功學講師。

為了讓參賽者對他們的獎學金負責，舉辦方應該要求參賽者聲明如何使用自己的教育基金。參賽者要想拿著這筆錢走，就應該過幾年再回來，告訴觀眾她們用這筆錢干了什么。這樣才能讓大家相信，美國小姐對推動教育平權是認真的。

成功

很多人都知道，美國小姐是輸是贏，要看她們在采訪間里的表現(xiàn)。在節(jié)目播出前幾天，每名參賽者都要站在一組評委面前接受10分鐘的盤問。不過觀眾們在這個環(huán)節(jié)從來看不到什么有營養(yǎng)的內(nèi)容，電視上放的片段都是選手在表演一些尷尬得令人牙疼的才藝。為了告訴大家美國小姐是怎樣煉成的，在電視節(jié)目播出的時候，至少應該播放三分鐘前五名選手接受評委訪問的錄像。

正確地做一個女王

盡管這一屆的美國小姐號稱更關注學識和成功，然而很多人打開電視就是為了看大長腿的，不是聽你來傳授人生經(jīng)驗的。大家就是覺得顏值即正義。美國小姐要想保持收視率（特別是在網(wǎng)絡電視，因為它對獎金的多少太重要了），就不要管參賽的小姐姐戴不戴假睫毛這種破事。但它需要更多地關注它真正的目的——用健康的審美觀慢慢改變世界。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

注：本文作者希拉里·利維·弗里德曼是布朗大學教育系講師，她目前正在創(chuàng)作一本關于選美和美國女性的書，預計將于2020年出版。

譯者：樸成奎?

Suddenly Miss America seems relevant again. The nearly 100-year-old program made headlines this week with the announcement, accompanied by the hashtag #byebyebikini, that the swimsuit and evening gown portions of the competition are no more.

But don’t be fooled: Miss America is still very much on life support.

In a world of reality TV and social media celebrities, it’s hard for Miss America to break through the noise. On top of that, since 1968, when one of the foundational protests of the women’s rights movement occurred against the pageant in Atlantic City, Miss America has struggled to prove its relevance in a world where women lead in business, academia, politics, the law, medicine, and more.

Yet all hope is not lost for our patient. As a pageant expert, I have a prescription based on Miss America’s own formula.

The Miss America crown has four points, each with a meaning: style, service, scholarship, and success. Focusing on these offers a path forward for the grande dame of pageantry.

Style

Wearing six-inch heels in a bikini is not the most stylish of choices. But what Miss America evolved to represent—a healthy lifestyle based on eating well and exercising—is still important. Instead of dropping the competition’s focus on physical appearance altogether, Miss America should retain a fitness component. This might look like what many teen pageants (fitness routines with burpees and pushups) or international pageants like Miss World (an intense obstacle course that resembles a Spartan Race) feature.

Service

Each contestant must have a personal platform that focuses on a national issue of concern. Winners’ platforms have ranged from HIV/AIDS education to anti-bullying to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Many state winners have done substantial work on their platforms, testifying before Congress and raising a great deal of money. The pageant should value these achievements more highly in scoring.

Scholarship

Miss America is the largest source of educational funds to women in the U.S. Yet not all contestants use their funds for educational purposes. Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri said she planned to attend medical school, but she now hosts a TV show. Her successor, 2015 winner Kira Kazantsev, said she planned to attend law school, but she is currently a motivational speaker.

To hold contestants accountable for their scholarship money, the organization should have them explain precisely how they will use their funds. And in order to receive their full award, winners should be required to return to the competition in future years to speak about what they are doing with their money. This would help reinforce the perception that the pageant is serious about empowering women.

Success

The popular pageant wisdom is that Miss America is won or lost in the interview room. Each contestant is grilled before a panel of judges for 10 minutes in the days before the televised broadcast. The American public never really sees the substance from those interviews, other than silly clips like a contestant burping the alphabet. To demonstrate how successful contestants have been, and can be, at least three minutes from those interviews should be shown for the top five finalists on the television broadcast.

Staying a queen

Despite its new focus on scholarship and success, Miss America has always been about exaggerated femininity. Many tune in for the rhinestones, the glitz, the glamour. To stay as relevant as possible—especially on network TV, which is essential to keep scholarship awards high—Miss America shouldn’t be afraid to still wear false eyelashes. But it needs to be more mindful of its real purpose—changing the world one point of the crown at a time.

Hilary Levey Friedman teaches in the education department at Brown University. She is currently working on a book about the links between pageantry and American femininity, which will be published in 2020.