About 200 feminists and civil rights activists attended the Miss America protest for the first time on September 7, 1968. The protest was organized by New York Radical Women and included the disposal of symbolic feminine products on the boardwalk, such as bras, hairspray, makeup, girdles, corsets, false eyelashes, mops, and other items.
The protest was heavily covered by newspapers across the country as a result of the massive media attention the pageant already garnered. Media attention was captured by the use of a trash can to dispose of feminine objects in a dramatic, symbolic manner. Although it was widely reported that the trash can was then set on fire, fueling the decades-old myth of bra-burning feminists, the protest was incident (and flame) free. Later, protest organizer Hanisch said about the Freedom Trash Can, “We had intended to burn it, but the police department wouldn’t let us do the burning since we were on the boardwalk.”
Organizers, including Robin Morgan, encouraged protesters to burn their draft cards and bras as a parallel. As soon as the phrase became headline material, it was associated with women who chose to go braless. Feminism and “bra-burning” were then linked in popular culture.
#1 Members of the National Organization of Women (NOW) parade down the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
#2 A protest against the Miss America Pageant on the boardwalk at Atlantic City, New Jersey, 6th September 1969.
#3 A protest against the Miss America Pageant at Atlantic City, New Jersey, 6th September 1969. A woman walks past with a sign reading ‘All women are beautiful’.
#4 Protesting The Miss America Pageant.
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.
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#5 Protesting against The Miss America Pageant.
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.
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#6 Freedom Trash Can’ on the Atlantic City Boardwalk during a protest against the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#7 On the Atlantic City Boardwalk, demonstrators, some waving high heels or underwear, protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#8 Poster that reads ‘Girls Crowned, Boys Killed (Vietnam),’ held by a demonstrator on the Atlantic City Boardwalk during a protest against the Miss America beauty pageant.
#9 Demonstrator Helen Kritzler tears up a magazine as she protests the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#10 On the Atlantic City Boardwalk, demonstrators, among them Helen Kritzler (right), tear up magazines as they protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#11 A demonstrator operates a marionette as she protests the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#12 On the Atlantic City Boardwalk, demonstrators, one of whom holds a live sheep on leash, holds up ‘V’ signs as they protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#13 A demonstrator operates a marionette as she protests the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#14 A young demonstrator carries a poster that reads ‘Can Make-Up Cover the Wounds of Our Oppression’ as, with others, she protests the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#15 On the Atlantic City Boardwalk, demonstrators, many with posters, protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#16 On the Atlantic City Boardwalk, demonstrators with posters, protesting against the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
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.
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#17 A demonstrator carries a poster that reads ‘Uppity Women Unite!! Create Love, Not Whores’ as, with others, she protests the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#18 Demonstrators carry posters as they protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#19 Demonstrator Peggy Dobbins (in coat and hat) ‘auctions’ a chained marionette during a protest of the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#20 Demonstrator Peggy Dobbins, among others (many with posters) protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#21 Demonstrators carry posters as they protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#22 Freedom Trash Can’ on the Atlantic City Boardwalk during a protest against the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#23 Demonstrators with posters, protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 7, 1968.
#24 A demonstrator carries a poster that reads ‘Mujeres! No Objetos’ (translated as ‘Women! Not Objects’) as, with others, she protests the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#25 Counter-demonstrators behind a police fence on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, during a Miss America beauty pageant protest, Atlantic City, 1968.
#26 Counter-demonstrators behind a police fence on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, during a Miss America beauty pageant protest, Atlantic City, 1968.
#27 A demonstrator as she holds a poster that reads ‘Miss America Pageant: Racism with Roses’ as she poses on the Atlantic City Boardwalk during a protest against the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#28 A demonstrator carries a poster that reads ‘Woman Power’ as she protests the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#29 Protesting The Miss America Pageant.
#30 A demonstrator’s arm throwing the torn pages of a magazine into the ‘Freedom Trash Can’ on the Atlantic City Boardwalk during a protest against the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#31 A live sheep, wearing a Miss America sash and on a leash, stands amidst the legs of demonstrators at a protest against the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#32 Demonstrators carry posters as they protest the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#33 A Miss America marionette draped in underwear, high heels, and hair curlers during a protest of the Miss America beauty pageant on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, Atlantic City, 1968.
#34 A demonstrator holds up a Miss America marionette draped in underwear, high heels, and hair curlers during a protest of the Miss America beauty pageant, Atlantic City, 1968.
#35 Demonstrators from the National Women’s Liberation Movement picket the 1968 Miss America Pageant.
#36 Demonstrators picketing the Miss America Pageant are shown as they await the hour when the new Miss America will be named.
#37 Demonstrators picketing the Miss America Pageant take a break as they await the hour when the new Miss America will be named.
#38 Demonstrators Picketing Miss America Pageant.
#39 Counter-demonstrators behind a police fence on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, during a Miss America beauty pageant protest, Atlantic City, 1968.
#40 Planning The Miss America Pageant Protest.
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.
