Thank you for your exclusive story on Miss New Hampshire candidates and the pressure on them to accept a fur coat from trappers every year. Young women are increasingly emboldened and informed, they understand that there is cruelty behind that fur coat. I have been actively campaigning for the Miss New Hampshire organization to stop the antiquated tradition of accepting fur coats from a predominantly older male organization. This whole thing reeks of sexism and dominance. Then to find out that some of these candidates are uncomfortable with the trapper sponsorship speaks volumes. When I talked with these candidates, they were appalled that beautiful foxes were being trapped, bludgeoned, skinned, and made into a coat that they felt pressured to accept.
I met with Claudette Jolin, vice president of the Miss New Hampshire organization, and she simply dismissed me. She said outright that these candidates had complete say in the fur coat and gloated that they all wanted to have it. I found out later that Claudette had her own coat of red fox fur.
Let’s face this reality. Young women accepting fur coats from an aging male trapping
association is not a good look for the Miss New Hampshire organization. The women I talked to supported the principles of Miss New Hampshire, but wanted the fur coat gone. Miss America should take heed and ban it from all of their state contests. We are in the year 2020, people have compassion, and these candidates should not have to be pressured regarding what is an obvious sexist tradition.
End the fur coat, let all of the state embrace Miss New Hampshire and appreciate her values of sticking up for innocent wildlife.
Kristina Snyder
Chester, NH
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