A 25-year-old woman is objecting to the long-established rules of the Miss America and Miss World beauty pageants that deem mothers ineligible to compete. On Monday, Danielle Hazel of New York spoke next to the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument located in Central Park. She told the audience about her dream to participate in the pageants, only to find out she was prohibited from competing because she had a son.
“I did not want or plan to give up on my dreams of being a part of a pageant and representing my country or my aspirations after I became a mother,” she said. “But I actually felt more motivated because of having my son, to make him proud and to be able to represent other mothers.” “When I told Zion, who is now six years old, about these rules, he had an immediate gut reaction: He said that these rules are stupid,” said Hazel.
“His sense of fairness at only six years old tells him that this is unjust and makes no sense.” Hazel’s attorney, Gloria Allred, said a discrimination complaint filed with New York City’s Commission on Human Rights looks to remove the requirements because they bar mothers from an “important business and cultural opportunity” merely due to their parental status. “We believe that these eligibility requirements discriminate against women who are parents,” Allred said.
“As we stated in Danielle’s filed complaint, this exclusion is degrading to Danielle as it is based upon the antiquated stereotype that women cannot be .