Think a pageant is all to do with beauty and nothing to do with brains? Think again.
At the 58th Annual Miss USA Pageant on April 19th, Carrie Prejean of California was asked possibly the most controversial opinion question on our political plate today.
“Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?” asked celeb gossip judge Perez Hilton, an open homosexual.
Prejean’s response stirred up something that has yet to settle.
“Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.”
Hilton was none too pleased.
The next day he posted a video on his blog site bashing Prejean for her answer, calling her “a stupid b***h.” Hilton also claimed that Prejean was the frontrunner for the title before her answer to this question, which lost her Hilton’s vote. Kristen Dalton of North Carolina took the crown and will represent the United States in the Miss Universe pageant in August.
Backlash isn’t only coming from the media; the American people are also getting in their say. The difference is instead of negative comments they are expressing the exact opposite; sympathy.
While some hold similar beliefs to Prejean, others still are simply defending her right to her own opinion. Even those who disagree with her praised her for holding to her beliefs instead of dishing out an Oscar-worthy (or rather, pageant-worthy) answer.
A lot of the media surrounding the aftermath of the Miss USA pageant assess that Prejean did not lose the crown on her answer specifically, but the *way* she answered it. Instead of using the phrase “heterosexual” marriage or “traditional” marriage, Prejean instead employed the phrase “opposite” marriage.
Prejean also stated that we live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage, which is only partly accurate. There are only four states that recognize same-sex marriage as a legal union. Massachusetts and Connecticuit are two that currently recognize it; Iowa will officially recognize it on Aprill 27 and Vermont (the most recent) on September 1.
Other states do recognize same-sex marriage as a civil union and give these couples similar benefits to heterosexual marriage, but even those are in the minority. Above all perhaps is the federal government, which currently does not recognize same-sex marriage as a legal union under the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 (DOFM).
At the end of the night, Prejean’s answer probably did lose her the crown. Narrow-minded is never a quality worth praising in a Miss USA contestant, but that’s beside the point.
While it was admirable Prejean did speak her mind and not put aside her beliefs, if she wanted to win Miss USA it would’ve been better to beat around the bush with a world peace-type answer.
Regardless of losing the crown, Prejean has publically stated that she feels she won and she answered to the best of her ability.
Obviously she doesn’t get as rattled as Perez Hilton.
The LG Blog 