Miss America is scrapping the swimsuit portion from its pageant

By Okorie Chioma- June 5 2018

The swimsuit portion of the Miss America beauty pageant will be scrapped starting from the next edition of Miss America. Also, the pageant will be more inclusive to women of all sizes, the contest announced Tuesday.

Gretchen Carlson, the chairwoman of the Miss America board of directors, announced on "Good Morning America" that the event will no longer feature a swimsuit portion.

Carlson also said on the show that Miss America will now be a competition, not a pageant.

"We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance. That's huge," she said.

Carlson also said the new Miss America competition will be more inclusive to women of "all shapes and sizes."

Following the announcement, the official Miss America Twitter account tweeted a short video of a white bikini going up in a puff of smoke with the hashtag #byebyebikini.

In place of the swimsuit contest, the contestants will take part in a live interactive session with the judges. A statement from the Miss America Organization, said the interactive session is "where she will highlight her achievements and goals in life and how she will use her talents, passion, and ambition to perform the job of Miss America."

Asides the elimination of swimsuits, the evening gown section of the competition is being revamped as well. Carlson said contestants will now be able to wear "whatever they choose."

Contestants will also discuss how they would advance their social-impact initiatives during this part of the contest. The talent portion of the competition will remain.