Mention a beauty pageant and the last thing that springs to mind is a bastion of the feminist movement.
When the Miss World Illawarra competition was staged last week, it was criticised by Mercury readers for "setting the women's movement back 100 years".
So it would come as a surprise to learn that the competition is run by a feminist and has vocal support from another.
Miss World Australia chairwoman Pauline McFetridge, who "burned my bra with the best of them back in the '60s", believed the competition was about female empowerment.
Ita Buttrose, a former magazine editor who famously published the country's first male centrefold as a statement of sexual equality, said a true feminist would respect a woman's decision to enter the pageant.
"What we all fought for during the years of women's liberation was choice," Ms Buttrose said.
"If there are girls who choose to enter Miss World, that's their choice and I think we should respect that."
The Miss World Australia pageant began as a fundraiser for the Spastic Centre (today's Cerebral Palsy Foundation) more than 50 years ago and is not to be confused with Miss Universe.
To draw the distinction, the pageant was rebranded as "Beauty with a Purpose" 25 years ago and has since raised more than $500 million for charity worldwide.
But the competition's persistence with the swimsuit program continues to be a bugbear; challenged for its relevance and the mixed message that it sends.
Ms McFetridge admitted that when she took on the licence of the Australian competition six years ago, she too grappled with the concept. But the search for a "fit, healthy young Australian woman" deemed it necessary.
"I thought about it long and hard and I've had to come to terms with it in my own head," she said.
"We have to be able to judge if they have a healthy body and I can't judge that if they're wearing an overcoat. I have to see them in a swimsuit.
"I've been told, 'You don't have any fat girls.' No, I don't have any fat girls, because that's not healthy."
Woonona's Ashleigh Potter, who became Miss World Illawarra this week, said she was at first daunted by the prospect of parading in a swimsuit. But the competition gave her the confidence to take on the challenge.
"It's about being able to show your outer beauty and feeling confident doing that," she said.
"It's also about projecting a healthy body image, showing that we're not stick thin."
Ms McFetridge said entrants worked hard to achieve success and deserved recognition.
"They've got to be fit, they have to learn public speaking, they have to gain the confidence to walk into a room, go to a lectern and speak.
"We laud our athletes for representing the country in what they choose to do, why can't we do the same for these young girls?"
Ms Buttrose, a former judge of both the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants, said the competitions had launched the careers of many professional women.
"Many of these girls go on to modelling careers, or showbiz careers, like Belinda Green (Miss World 1972).
"Jennifer Hawkins (Miss Universe 2004) has been a terrific success.
"Look at the career she has carved out for herself. She's the brand ambassador for Myer."
Katie Richardson, the Illawarra's own Miss World Australia winner, said her 2008 win had opened many doors.
Aside from travelling the world as an Australian ambassador, the networks she formed had put her in good stead in her efforts for a career in medicine.
An undergraduate student in nutrition and dietetics, the 22-year-old has already met medical board members who will decide her fate in the interview process.
"You also need to have a portfolio of community involvement which I've pretty much got already through Miss Australia," she said.
"I didn't have the belief in myself to do medicine before I went into the competition."
But that hard-won confidence has taken some hits.
Ms Richardson was at a Sydney event after her win when the editor of a major Australian magazine took her to task.
"I was wearing my sash - the organisers had asked me to wear it - and this woman looked me up and down, pointed at me and said, 'What's this all about?'
"I said 'I'm Miss Australia' and she said, 'So, you're not just wearing it (the sash) for dress-ups? I didn't even know that was still around'."
Ms Richardson said she drew on her Miss World training to remain composed, but the experience left her shaken.
"How bad is it for powerful women like that to be putting another woman down?
"Perhaps it's their own insecurities," she said.
Ms McFetridge said entrants were often misjudged, copping questions like: "Why are you doing this? Don't you feel like a bimbo?"
There was a false assumption that girls who entered pageants were "not bright", Ms Buttrose said. "It's what people often do about women, they make assumptions about us.
"The sums of money these girls raise are very significant to the organisations who benefit.
"That's rarely considered when everyone crawls out of the woodwork and cries 'cattle market', and all those sorts of things'."
Ms Richardson said she never felt anything but empowered by the association and was at a loss to understand such judgments.
"The nicest thing I've had is mums saying I'm a positive role model for their daughters."
For those who believe the beauty pageant format has become redundant, Ms McFetridge suggests they think again. The number of entrants is "growing like topsy".
Ms Buttrose believed critics were taking life too seriously.
"My thought is, good luck to these young women. I hope they enjoy it and good luck to the charities who benefit out of this and anybody else who enjoys looking at a beautiful girl."
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