Racial Segregation in Beauty Pageants

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Racial Segregation in Beauty Pageant The United States of America supposedly encompasses resilience and advocates equality. Apparently, the United States of America abides for progress on racial discrimination and understands, accepts, and respects all races. But in reality we are not united with all races; thus we just make up America, not the United States of America. President Barack Obama affirms, “....there is not a black America and a white America and latino America and asian America - there's the United States of America” (Obama). In pursuance to evolve into the United States of America, as opposed to a disembodied one, we need to act like the unrestricted, free willing, and affirmative country that we say we are. Beauty pageant history, such as Miss America, testify the American ignorance of other races in our county. Racial segregation in the Miss America competition can be seen as early as 1945 when Bess Myerson was crowned. Being a Jewish Russian, Myerson’s ethnicity resulted in hurtful backlash the year she won the pageant. Many insisted for Myerson to transpose her name to one that by no means sounds Jewish. Myerson adamantly refused to do so, which resulted in more negative comments regarding her win. It was not until 1984 when America had a chance to resent their own pageantry winners again. Vanessa Williams was crowned as the first African American Miss America. Not surprisingly, America’s views still did not advance four decades later and Williams experienced controversy with death threats and hate mail. Now, into the 21st century, Nina Davuluri of Indian descent, otherwise known as Miss America 2014, is not treated any differently. To take home the crown in the Miss America competition, one basic rule states th... ... middle of paper ... ... believing in equality, but American citizens can still ashamedly see that we are not yet a modern country with modern beliefs. Miss America is a female body that is meant to represent the finest American values to project onto the hopes and dreams of the nation. Throughout the pageant’s history, that female body has typically been thin, attractive and almost always white. We should feel humiliated and remorse that our ideal Miss America is still a blue-eyed and blonde girl. We should feel embarrassed that we cannot accept a beautiful, smart woman, with inspiring goals who is breaking barriers to teach us about cultural competency. It is America’s blessing to have such a good-natured girl to represent America, even if we do not deserve it. If we cannot accept Nina as our next Miss America, then Nina deserves this platform to raise awareness for racial stereotyping.

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