Women Protest against the Miss America Pageant in the Late 1960s

On September 7, 1968, about 200 feminists and civil rights activists gathered on the Atlantic City boardwalk to protest the Miss America Pageant. The demonstration was organized by New York Radical Women under the banner “No More Miss America” and included the symbolic disposal of bras, hairspray, makeup, girdles, corsets, false eyelashes, mops, and other items into a “Freedom Trash Can.” Although newspapers across the country reported that the trash can was set on fire — sparking the lasting myth of bra-burning feminists — the protest was entirely flame-free, as police would not permit burning on the boardwalk. The event drew massive media coverage and became a landmark moment in the women’s liberation movement.

They are holding their national convention this week in Atlantic City. The Miss America Pageant is also occurring here this week.

On the Atlantic City Boardwalk, a demonstrator carries a poster that reads ‘I Am A Woman, Not a Toy, Pet, or Mascot’ and holds a live sheep on a leash as she protests the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968. The protest, organized by the New York Radical Women group, was known as ‘No More Miss America,’ after a pamphlet written and distributed by the group.

On the Atlantic City Boardwalk, a demonstrator (in a sash that reads ‘Liberation for Women’) stands beside a Miss America marionette in the ‘Freedom Trash Can’ during a protest against the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.

The protest, organized by the New York Radical Women group, was known as ‘No More Miss America,’ after a pamphlet written and distributed by the group.

Among the visible signs are ones that read ‘Welcome to the Miss America Cattle Auction’ and ‘All Women Beautiful.’ The protest, organized by the New York Radical Women group, was known as ‘No More Miss America,’ after a pamphlet written and distributed by the group.

In front of her, a child pushes a stroller. The protest, organized by the New York Radical Women group, was known as ‘No More Miss America,’ after a pamphlet written and distributed by the group.

Among the visible signs are ones that read ‘Mujeres! No Objetos’ (translated as ‘Women! Not Objects’), ‘All Women are Beautiful,’ and, in the background, ‘Can Make-Up Cover the Wounds of Our Oppression.’

A poster in front of it reads ‘Miss America is a Military Mascot,’ while among the objects in it is a Miss America marionette draped in underwear, high heels, and hair curlers.

New York Radical Women co-founder Robin Morgan, one of the protest’s organizers, is at center, in a striped suit.

Among them are a number of boys and young men who give ‘thumbs down’ gestures.

Among them is a man who waves a handful of ‘George Wallace for President’ flyers.

The protest, organized by the New York Radical Women group, was known as ‘No More Miss America,’ after a pamphlet written and distributed by the group.

The protest, organized by the New York Radical Women group, was known as ‘No More Miss America,’ after a pamphlet written and distributed by the group.

Demonstrators waving high heels or underwear protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.

A group called the National Women’s Liberation Movement demonstrated against the pageant on the grounds that it set false goals for women. One woman holds a sign which states “Don’t be a Playboy Accessory.”

Arguing that the Miss America Pageant sets up false goals for women, a group of protesters sit down inside the building. One sign reads ‘Welcome to the Miss America Cattle Auction,’ implying that contestants are treated like animals, or meat.

At the Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF) office, members of the New York Radical Women group attend a meeting to plan a protest at the Miss America beauty pageant, New York, New York, March 1968. The protest was named ‘No More Miss America,’ after a pamphlet written and distributed by the group.