Never have young women felt more pressure to be thin than the present time. Anytime a spotlighted figure has any evidence of curves, the fat comments seem to begin. Perhaps no one feels more obligated to stay in tip top shape than pageant contestants. Just ask Miss America, Mallory Hagan. The Miss New York contestant took home the national title in January with a toned and trim body, as she was dedicated to training and eating just right for the competition. Now just two months after the pageant, she is in the midst of defending her weight gain. The blonde beauty made an appearance on Anderson Cooper Live on Thursday, March 14 to respond to the critics.
Mallory came under scrutiny when a photo was posted of her and fellow beauty contestant Miss Hawaii, Skyler Kamaka on the beach in their bikinis. Both women have visibly gained a little bit of weight since the pageant, but as the double standard often applies in society – the weight gain was unacceptable on the internet, though the “too thin” argument is equally a trending topic.
The curvier Mallory defended herself on Anderson Cooper Live by saying, “I think that I am human. I like to equate getting ready for the Miss America pageant to getting ready for a boxing match. We get in shape and then afterwards life goes back to normal.”
The 24-year-old also noted that she has a full agenda in which making constant healthy lifestyle choices isn’t always easy. She voiced that it seems a lot of people don’t realize how much Miss America travels. Hagan travels on average 20,000 miles a month, which usually puts her in a different place every 48 hours.
“It’s all about being healthy. We’re all about living a healthy lifestyle,” said Hagan.
“Some days you want to eat potatoes and some days you don’t,” she said with honesty.
The transparent beauty queen admitted, “I struggle with it, just like every other young woman does as well. I think it’s something we all strive to be better at, but I am real.”
The co-hosts on the show assured her that they would love to look like her. It is reasonable to believe that much of America would agree with them.
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