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Miss USA 2007, Rachel Smith, gets crowned by her predecessor, Tara Connor (AP)

Last night, the annual Miss USA, was held on NBC. While the network definitely milked the scandal surrounding Miss USA 2006, Tara Connor, to publicize this event, the actual pageant went pretty smoothly as per usual. 51 contestants from each state and the District of Columbia vied for the coveted Miss USA title and Mikomoto-designed crown. There was glitz, there was glamour, and of course, there were beautiful girls. Hosts Nancy O'Dell and Tim Vincent from Access Hollywood, comptently transitioned from one chereographed segment to the next. Miss Michigan made it to the round of 15, but unfortunately, the representative from my home state of Florida didn't even make the first cut. By the end of the night, Miss Tennessee, Rachel Smith, wowed the judges enough to win it all.

Unlike the Miss America pageant, the 51 Miss USA contestants did not have to showcase any talents. Which raises the question: Is Donald Trump's Miss USA pageant simply a beauty pageant with a Q&A round thrown in for good measure? It's true that Miss USA receives a scholarship for higher education purposes and does go around the globe advocating issues such as Breast Cancer Awareness, but after Tara Connor's drug use confession and stint in Rehab, I've become weary of the integrity of the Miss USA/Miss Universe organization. Their method of choosing the final candidate doesn't even seem legit. How can you feel 100% confident that the most qualified candidate earned the title when the final judges consisted of: Jerry Springer, "Blow Out" star Jonathan Antin, Baby Phat President Kimora Lee Simmons and Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss?!

It seems to me that the pageant is just looking to obtain high ratings using the following formula: Women + Bathing Suits + Semi-celebrities = Large viewing audience. At the end of the night, you don't hear people going, "Wow, I really liked Miss X because her stance on America's education system impressed me." Instead you hear, "I liked Miss Y because she had the best smile and her gown was AMAZING" or "Miss Z had the best legs and strut." The sad thing is, instead of the issues being emphasized, women continue to be objectified, perpetuating the stereotypes surrounding pageants that these organizations have tried to break free from.

Posted by paulinad at March 24, 2007 03:54 PM

Comments

Posted by: ffm at March 25, 2007 09:57 PM