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Margaret Gorman, a white woman with her arms outstretched, holds a flag behind her and wears a dress and a very large crown.
Margaret Gorman, the first Miss America winner (1921).

First Miss America pageant takes place in Atlantic City.

1921

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Margaret Gorman, the first Miss America winner (1921).

Contestants are in their late teens and are judged based on a "scientific" criteria assessing ratio of features, etc. The pageant is part of a cultural shift in the U.S., as women's bodies, which were previously hidden, begin to be displayed more openly in the new styles of the time.