no more Miss America: Atlantic City is a town with class, they raid your morals and judge your ass

"Women of the World Unite-We Have Nothing to Lose But Our Men!" Off hand, I'd say that's quite a lot. Not so, however, according to New York Women's Liberation, who last Saturday, September 7 staged a demonstration on Atlantic City's boardwalk to protest the crowning of Miss America 1968, "symbol of the American woman's built-in obsolescence."patriarchy

The demonstration began at 3:00 in the afternoon in front of the Atlantic City Convention Hall. Women's Liberation, its participants numbering around 200, began with a march, interrupted almost immediately by police vigilancepolice, hecklers and Pageant organizers. Placards read "Miss America is alive and angry in Harlem," "Welcome to the Miss America Cattle Auctionpatriarchy," and "Everyone is beautiful," while demonstrators chanted, "Atlantic City is a town with class, they raise your morals and judge your ass."patriarchy

Hecklers on the other side of the police barricades retorted with "Do you play around with monkeys or men?" and "You wouldn't even make it in a woman's world." Although the majority of the spectators were hostile, one middle-aged man commented, "I think there's some truth, some factuality in their arguments." Jeers ranged from "lesbians>lesbian" and "screwy frustrated women" to "If they were to get married, they wouldn't have time for all this," patriarchy (many of Women's Liberation are married) and "If they want freedom, let them join the Service." A little group set up its own counter- demonstration, with posters of "Jealousy will get you nowhere." Terry Neeuwsen, Miss Green Bay 1967 and runner-up number two in the 1967 Pageant, emerged from the crowd wearing a sign, "There's only one thing wrong with Miss America-she's beautiful."

The action really began later in the afternoon when one of Women's Liberation lead a little wooly lamb onto the boardwalk, with a blue-and-yellow Miss America banner draped on its back. The lamb trotted along amicably, but even the big bow judiciously strapped to its tail couldn't hide the fact that Women's Liberation Miss America 1968 was a male, and on discovery of this fact the crowd hooted and roared. Robin Morgan, organizer of the demonstration, attired the lamb in a black padded bra and hair-switch.

Then came a huge Freedom Trash Can, into which Women's Liberation dropped items of its purported enslavement-bras, stockings, girdles, hair-curlers, copies of Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Ladies' Home Journal. Even the lamb was divested of its garb and let loose to wander in its original state.

Next came an eight-foot wooden puppet with movable joints who looked like the female version of-' Uncle Sam, and had chained to it several girls who were "auctioned off by Peggy Dobbins, dressed in a grey oversized man's coat, big rubbers, tie, trousers and a white slave trader's hatblack, to represent an "auctioneer slave-trader."slavery She gave a dialogue on the rights of women in much the same manner as that of the original suffragettes, after whom Women's Liberation seems to model itself.

The demonstration's ranks dwindled a little at suppertime when girls went to eat at a Black Community open-houseblack arranged by Flo Kennedy.

The Pageant itself began at 8:30 with contestants nervously strutting along the platform and a diligent contingent of policewomenpolice, troopers and plainclothesmen following around the 16 or so members of the Women's Liberation who had tickets for the ceremony. Around 10:30 a very peculiar odor started to permeate the main room and corridors of the Convention Hall and obviously wafted its way to the noses of police who arrested Peggy Dobbins as she . came down the Pageant room steps spraying a Toni hair-spray bottle filled with butric acid. The Pageant continued with the contestants doing their routines, reminiscent of a Saturday afternoon talent show for 12- year-olds.

Eighteen-year-old Judith Ann Ford, Miss Illinois, was crowned Miss America at 12:00 midnight. She hadn't uttered three words of her acceptance speech, when a burst of "Down with Miss America," "Freedom" and "Women's Liberation" echoed from the right wing of the Convention Hall balcony. A large white bedsheet with the words "Women's Liberation" had been hung over the balcony railing in full view. Police on the Convention floor brandishing billyclubs ran up the stairs to the balcony section and carried away the six girls who had lowered the banner. One girl who was slow in moving was carried off with a policeman's hand around her throat and another hand over her mouth.

"They're expressing freedom, I guess," remarked Saundra Williams, 19-year-old winner of the Miss Black America Beauty Pageantblack, the first of its kind, held the same day in Atlantic City on the boardwalk. "To each his own."

The demonstration outside the Convention Hall, which was continuing with a candlelight vigil, was ordered to disperse and "escorted" down the boardwalk by Atlantic City police and jeering Pageant participants. The group, after some delay and much harassment, finally boarded a city bus and was taken to a terminal on the outskirts of town to await its own chartered bus. It was learned meanwhile that Peggy Dobbins had been charged with disorderly conduct on a $1,000 bail and the girls who had lowered the banner with $110 each.

Officials of the group then went to the centra] police station where, through the arrangements of Flo Kennedy and a Philadelphia woman lawyer who had taken up the cause on the boardwalk, bail for Peggy was reduced to $110 and $50 each for the six other girls.

Commented Paul Krassner of the Realist who despite his sex was very helpful in retrieving lost articles for the girls and who seemed very much the topic of conversation for the new suffragettes on the way home, ""Well, it won't help the Democratic convention."politics"