Miss America Clears Up Beauty Queen Misconceptions
By Movieguide® Contributor
Active-duty Air Force officer and current Miss America Madison Marsh wants to set the record straight when it comes to pageant queens.
“The Miss America organization, especially in my competition, almost all of my score was dependent on my public speaking and my community service,” the 2024 Miss America winner told Fox News. “In order to compete, you have to have a community service initiative. Mine is my nonprofit, the Whitney Marsh Foundation.”
Marsh added, “You’ve got public interviews, private interviews on stage, questions, political questions that you’re having to answer in front of an entire audience, and then national live-streaming. All of that goes to say that the people…the girls and the women that I’ve met in the organization are some of the most well-spoken, passionate, intelligent people that I’ve met.”
She acknowledged that many people think of beauty queens the way they see them in “silly, silly movies that have been made about pageant girls and assume that’s all we are.”
“But for me, the most important thing to me is not what dress I’m wearing, what I’m doing on stage,” Marsh said. “It’s what we’re able to do for our communities.”
She concluded, “I want people to remember that this year, like even though I’m wearing this, I still get to serve in the Air Force, I still get to serve in my nonprofit or getting to serve with Pam Khan for a cause that is so important, like pancreatic cancer. It goes so far beyond the word pageant.”
READ MORE: U.S. AIR FORCE OFFICER CROWNED MISS AMERICA: ‘YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING’
Marsh’s nonprofit, the Whitney Marsh Foundation, was created to honor her mother, Whitney, who passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
“The Whitney Marsh Foundation (WMF) was birthed from Whitney’s determination to not let the illness define her,” the foundation’s website reads. “Annually, we run together as a community to raise funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer to honor Whitney’s life and passion for running.”
In addition to her charity work, Marsh also made history as the first active-duty Air Force officer to be crowned Miss America.
“America, I’m all yours,” she posted on Instagram following her win. “We made history last night as the first military member to win Miss America. Here’s to showing the world that women can do anything.”
Marsh also praised her competitors, writing, “All of the women I competed with are the most kind, intelligent, talented, and passionate people I have ever met. I could write pages about each of them, so go see for yourself how amazing they are. I have no doubt that they will be leading in every corner of America whether it be in philanthropy, politics, business, or more.”
READ MORE: MISS AMERICA GRATEFUL FOR TIME AS AIR FORCE OFFICER: ‘JUST WONDERFUL’
