14 DAY TRIAL // Beauty queens on beauty pageants, particularly the big-scale ones, are rarely encouraged to be different. This is precisely what Miss Kansas Theresa Vail is trying to change about Miss America by showing off her massive tattoo.
It’s not uncommon for women to get tattoos these days or even to display them in public, since they have long lost the stigma attached to them.
However, beauty queens are asked to fit into certain molds and one unwritten rule of pageants says that they must not have any body art or, if they do, that they should hide it under makeup.
Hours ago, at a preliminary Miss America event, Theresa walked on stage in a two-piece bikini and zero foundation / makeup on her tattoo, which spreads over her ribcage and goes down to the waist, as the New York Daily News confirms.
The tattoo reads “God, Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.”
In an older post on her blog Miss Outdoor Girl, Theresa explained that she had no intention of hiding it because that would mean being a hypocrite, not staying true to herself.
“My platform [is] empowering women to OVERCOME stereotypes and break barriers. What a hypocrite I would be if I covered the ink. With my platform, how could I tell other women to be fearless and be true to themselves if I can’t do the same? […] I am who I am, tattoos and all,” Theresa writes.
She also argues that the requirements for Miss America say contestants must be representative of the “contemporary” American woman, and confident in their own skin.
She is just that, she says, which is why she’s showing off her tattoos.
“Should I win Miss America because I have tattoos? Of course not. BUT, I shouldn’t be discredited for having them either. This is 2013. We are not in the dark-ages, we are not in the 50′s. We are the leading nation for innovation, creativity and progression. When I dress for work everyday, I act like a professional and I look like a professional. YOU do not know that I have tattoos unless I want you to,” Theresa also writes.