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One of two visible tattoos on Ms. Kansas, Theresa Vail, during the preliminary round of the swimsuit competition Tuesday in Atlantic City.

(Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger)

ATLANTIC CITY — She isn't the only one with a tattoo.

Miss Montana, for instance, has a big bold one on her foot, with a cross and an inscription.

But Theresa Vail's ink was front and center last night at the first round of Miss America preliminaries. Exposing a tattoo seemed a far cry from the pageant queens of old who came to visit, like BeBe Shopp, from 1948, who once, it was reported, told media she didn't think bikinis were appropriate for American women.

Between Vail's red bikini, on her right side, spanning her ribs and hip, is the "Serenity Prayer," written in a sizable series of vintage font.

Miss Kansas Theresa Vail. Miss America photo gallery.

She is Miss Kansas, and while she wasn't there to wear them — the ladies will don their parade shoes Saturday — her plain tan boots also stood out in a table of glitzy, glittery heels yesterday at a preview for the

Show Us Your Shoes Parade

.

Vail, 22, joined the Kansas Army National Guard at 17, lists her employment as being in the medical detachment, and has double majored in Chinese and chemistry at Kansas State University.

Her pageant platform: "Empowering Women; Overcoming Stereotypes and Breaking Barriers."

Her career goal? "To become a prosthodontist for the Army" (prosthetic dentist). Vail did not win her turn at the swimsuit category.

Vail is believed to be the first contestant in a major pageant to display ink.

The senior at Kansas State University has one other tattoo: An insignia for the U.S. Army Dental Corps on her left shoulder.

Vail wrote on her blog

the "Serenity Prayer" helped her get through her adolescent years when she was bullied, leading her to get the tattoo. She said she added the military tattoo because she's always had "a strong passion for service."

"My whole platform is empowering women to overcome stereotypes and break barriers, Vail wrote on her blog. "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."

She is the second service member to compete in Miss America, following Miss Utah Jill Stevens in 2007, who was a combat medic in Afghanistan.

Sharon Pearce, president of the Miss America Organization, says organizers were aware that Vail wouldn't be covering her tattoos. Pearce didn't think it was a problem.

"We believe each contestant definitely has the ability to show their individuality," she says. "We're happy to support them."

Chelsea Rick, Miss Mississippi, won the swimsuit competition on the same night that Vail strutted the stage in her bikini.

"I just expected that she was going to cover them up," says Rick, who wore a black and gold bikini. She thinks Vail is just representing herself by choosing not to cover something so permanent. Besides, she says, if Vail covered the ink now and won the title, she would have to do it all the time.

Mario Barth, owner of Starlight Tattoo shops in Rochelle Park, Belleville and Las Vegas, and the producer of the Inked Out tattoo convention taking place this weekend at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, calls body art "the ultimate statement of self-expression."

It's a natural choice, he says, for a woman to share her tatoos on a national stage.

"I think it's a great thing that they're showing it and on such a big competition," says Barth. Plus, he says, by showing her tattoos in such a visible and large way, Vail is actually reflecting the chosen adornments of many women in 2013, in the United States and elsewhere.

"The biggest trend currently in the last year is that 75 percent of the clients are females and that all of them go for very large-scale tattoos," he says. "Angelina Jolie can show it on the red carpet, then Miss America can show it on the show."

Pearce says the mission of the pageant is to view the women in totality and not fixate on one detail.

Miss Alabama is one contestant whose very name, Chandler Champion, has drawn attention. Talking about Vail's body art, she lit up.

"She's such a cool girl," said Champion, eyes wide. "She's so full of surprises."

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Star-Ledger staff writer Jeff Goldman contributed to this report.