But the Freetown contest wasn't Lawless' first experience with competitive pageantry.

As a high school senior, she won the New York state title in America's Junior Miss Scholarship Competition. The event claims it is not a "pageant"--though Lawless admitted it "might look like one to the outside observer."

Lawless said both competitions involve similar activities--both place great importance talent and intelligence, though the pageants also include swimsuit competitions.

Lawless said her success is a result of talent and effort not a "small waist and perfect features."

"I'm not a stick figure," she said. "I'm not thin, but I do consider myself in fairly good shape."

Lawless won the Miss Massachusetts competition's talent award by performing a Fredrick Chopin piece for piano, which she has studied for 15 years. She has also served as a accompanist for the Radcliffe Choral Society.

While the talent exhibition comprised 40 percent of her total score, 30 percent came from a personal interview, with the swimsuit and evening wear competitions worth 15 percent each.

Lawless said she isn't offended by the inclusion of "beauty" in the pageant.

"There is nothing that has been ever said to me that degrades any of the women," she said.

"There is nothing that promotes women more than the chance to receive scholarships," she adds. "The program is meant to reward women who have dedicated a lot of their time to perfecting a talent and keeping themselves in good physical health."

And what about the swimsuit portion of the competition?

"It is an evaluation of whether physically you can handle the rigors of an intense travelling schedule," she said.

Preparing for the swimsuit competition necessitated a rigorous fitness routine, Lawless said, though, unlike some other contestants, she did not hire a personal image consultant.

"Mostly it was just about getting in better physical shape--working out every day," she said.

And although she said some of her peers are skeptical about the pageant's value, she said she has been pleasantly surprised by their response to her participation.

"I don't' have as much criticism as I expected to get," she said.

Lawless said she may compete for the Miss Massachusetts title again next year, but rules would demand that she do so from a different local pageant.

"I can't crown myself," she said.