The expression on my face after watching poor Miss South Carolina answer her final question in the recent Miss Teen USA pageant has not changed.
By now, you have YouTubed the clip and amused yourself over and over again. But I have to ask the question, why are we so amazed?
A beauty pageant by definition is a pretentious show that has no real importance or meaning.
The majority of the competition is based on image. The idea of the final question is created to conceal the fact that without some recognition of the existence of intellect, the pageant would just be disgusting. There must be some part of the pageant to redeem its superficiality. Otherwise, it would be a materialistic festival of nothingness.
The stereotype exists for a reason.
The breakdown of scoring shows this: It's 25 percent evening wear, 25 percent athletic wear and 50 percent for the personal interview.
Contestants must carry themselves with grace and display their taste through their choices in clothing, and the judges will superficially score them. The judges have to perceive their intellect in the final question and it amounts to a lot.
The winner of the Miss Teen USA pageant receives a plethora of gifts and awards. A crown that costs more than $150,000, a high life in New York City for a year with all expenses paid, a new wardrobe of designer clothes, extensive travel opportunities, a national and international multi-media advertising campaign, and more.
Was Miss South Carolina thinking about why our education system is failing, or about the fame, glamour and fortune she would get when she won? That is why she did not win.
Yes, the contestants work very hard to enter the competition. They don't eat for a while. No wonder our perceptions of beauty and success are skewed.
And the Miss Teen USA pageant is not the only example in which these ideas are barraged into young girls' minds.
It is ironic Miss South Carolina seems to be the exact product of why 1/5 of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a map. Her answer is quite revealing.
Do contestants have any sincere interest in feeding the children of Africa? Some may, but it is sad to know these girls are being coached and trained to respond to the final question using a number of buzz words.
It is evident in the way they carry themselves when answering the question.
Her answer reveals a lot about the process of the beauty pageant. When someone is passionate about something it is clear. But the space in Miss South Carolina's eyes did not convince me.
I don't think she is stupid. All contestants need a cause to join a pageant. Do the majority of them really care? There are many ways to fight for a cause; a beauty pageant does not count as one of them. It is designed to be self-serving.
So, the question took her for a spin, and she bombed miserably.
I feel sad for girls who were never trained to think on their own, but instead follow a specific protocol of words and beauty pageant jargon. She tried, and she bombed.
I still applaud her for showing her face the very next morning on the Today Show taking another stab at answering the question rather successfully.
myounis@unews.com
