Bye bye bikini: Miss Germany follows US to kill ‘swimwear’ category

Contestants in the Miss Germany beauty pageant will no longer strut their stuff in skimpy bikinis, as organizers are set to remove the ‘swimwear’ category. They say the contest will now focus on “personality.”

"We want to turn Miss Germany into a personality [contest]," said pageant CEO Max Klemmer. "For that, the bikini was not very relevant." Contestants will now pose in more modest ‘summer outfits’ instead, from next year’s pageant onwards. The new rules apply to men too. “Mister Germany” will sacrifice its swimwear category in favor of a jeans-and-shirt section.

Personality-centered or not, Klemmer insists that looks will still play a part in the contest, as good looks indicate a healthy lifestyle.

His decision follows the lead of Miss America’s organizers, who eliminated the swimsuit category earlier this year. Instead of showing off their bodies in revealing bikinis, contestants will show off their wit, intelligence, and “talk about their social-impact initiatives.”

The decision was met with a storm of derision online.

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