The 25-year-old said that because moms are parents, they are not eligible for “employment or business opportunities” under the rules of the Miss America and Miss World pageants.
Danielle Hazel Challenges Pageant Rules:
A future beauty queen is contesting the Miss America and Miss World pageant regulations, arguing that they bar moms from entering. Danielle Hazel, 25, had always envisioned herself competing, but when she found out she was no longer qualified due to her 19-year-old son Zion, who is now six years old, she was distraught.
Now, in an attempt to get the criteria lifted, she has filed a complaint with the New York Commission on Human Rights, arguing that the law prohibits and excludes women from an “important business and cultural opportunity” just because of their parental status. Feminist attorney Gloria Allred was there as Ms. Hazel announced the lawsuit at Central Park’s Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument.
The exclusion is demeaning to Danielle, as we stated in Danielle’s filed complaint because it is founded on the outdated stereotype that women cannot be beautiful, poised, passionate, talented, and philanthropic besides being mothers. Ms. Allred, who has worked on high-profile cases like the OJ Simpson trial, acknowledged this. A person should not be denied work or commercial possibilities because they are pregnant or a parent; these conditions are not crimes.
The designation of someone as a parent shouldn’t be stigmatized, and being a parent shouldn’t make someone feel inferior, ashamed, or dehumanized. According to Ms. Hazel, her kid called them “stupid” when she told him about the regulation. The young mother said that even at six years old, his sense of justice informs him that this is unfair and nonsensical.
Veronika Didusenko, who was named Miss Ukraine in 2018 but had her title revoked after the Miss World organization discovered she was pregnant, joined the two on Monday. After losing her legal battle in Ukraine, Ms. Didusenko—who has subsequently pushed to end beauty pageant prohibitions on mothers—sought redress from the European Court of Human Rights.
“Only those with legal custodianship of their children” is not a prohibition against moms, according to Stuart Moskovitz, a lawyer for the Miss America competition, who spoke to the New York Post. According to the pageant website, applicants must be female, US citizens, single, and free of any legal dependents. They must also fulfill the residence criteria of the city or state where they wish to compete.
According to the Post, Mr. Moskovitz asserted that Miss America works “365 days a year” and is busier than the President of the United States, saying that the only situation in which a ban is appropriate is to safeguard the child’s welfare.
According to reports, he stated that if women were to compete, “even if there is shared custody, that child is jeopardized.” The Associated Press contacted Miss World pageant representatives but did not reply.
