So with all of this progressive talk, you might ask yourself: why is the bathing suit competition still even a thing? And where is the talent portion? All the contestants I spoke to defended it in the same way, saying it shows "how hard the women have worked." When I challenged this line of thinking in private interviews, identical talking points bubbled up over and over again. "Compare Miss Georgia and me — I don't have those curves!" one said. During the live show Miss Georgia DeAnna Johnson led the pack down the runway, her only screen time through the weekend, assumably placed first by the organization to show just how "diverse" the bodies have become. Many of the viewers at home thought otherwise — and plus size model Ashley Graham, reporting from backstage for the second year in a row, brings up the same point.