One
of the contestants in this year's Miss America Pageant will stand out
during the swimsuit competition. Miss Kansas Theresa Vail is believed to
be the first contestant in the 93-year history of the pageant to
display a tattoo - actually two of them. It was much easier for women to
hide tattoos when Miss America required a one-piece bathing suit, but
now that the girls compete in bikinis, it's a lot harder to conceal the
body art. A recent Harris Poll revealed that one if five American adults
have tattoos. Women are slightly more likely than men, for the first
time since this question was first asked, to have a tattoo (now 23%
versus 19%), according to Harris. In case you're wondering what the
tattoo on Ms. Vail's side says, it's the Serenity Prayer (God, grant me
the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.) The other tattoo on her body is the
insignia for the U.S. Army Dental Corps on her left shoulder. This is
what Ms. Vail told
People magazine
about her decision to compete: "Why am I choosing to bear my tattoos?"
Vail says. "My whole platform is
empowering women to overcome stereotypes and break barriers. What a
hypocrite I would be if I covered my ink. How can I tell other women to
be fearless and true to themselves if I can't do the same? I am who I
am, tattoos and all." Here's something else you probably didn't know
about Ms. Vail. The 23-year-old is a sergeant in the Kansas Army
National Guard. Miss America will be crowned Sunday from Atlantic City,
N.J.
