HIGHLAND
FLI N G
NOVEMBER 2013
THE INSIDE news Pot for Tots p. 2
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AMERICAN?
M
Amita Shukla
iss America is high school redux—some of the country’s prettiest women compete for scholarships to any school they want (no, it’s not all about just being pretty). Like high school, there is a lot of drama, a lot of eye rolling, and a lot more focus on looks than anyone really wants to admit. Most of the commentaries on Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014, sound suspiciously similar to what one might read on the bathroom stalls in high school. Social media raged against Indians, Muslims, and other “untrue Americans” as soon as Davuluri’s victory was announced. A video on USA Today featured horrific tweets calling her “Miss 7-11” and “Miss Al Qaeda.” Coming so close to the 9-11 anniversary, her crowning was considered by some as a second slap in the face to the country. Not willing to stop there, people accused her of stealing the crown from other, “more American” contestants. The favored contestant by most of those dissenters was Miss Kansas (Theresa Vail), a blonde, blue-eyed hunter and military member. These are allegedly more “American” activities and traits than attending medical school, Davuluri’s dream. Miss Vail is the archetypical “American,” which is not necessarily a bad thing—but her “American” is far from the only. No matter how good Davuluri may be in any other respect (she studied cognitive science at University of Michigan), the one thing people focus on is how she is not “pretty” enough or “American” enough to hold her title. When asked what makes us American, most Americans ironically cite our cultural diversity. In light of that, does it really make sense
for people to want only a white woman as the face of our country? Nina Davuluri is a woman who wants to be a doctor, who has been academically successful, and who is articulate and confident. This is the kind of role model America’s women need, even if she does not sport beach-blonde waves. We say we are so proud to be American, but what does that really mean? The mudslingers seek to uphold tradition and to uphold a standard. And yes, Miss America may have started as an all-white competition. But voting and owning land in America used to be all white too. Miss America was all white for its first 35 years, and it was not until 1984 (63 years after the pageant started) that a nonwhite woman won the crown. The mudslingers cling to a racist, closed-minded, and outdated standard. Davuluri agrees, “I’ve always viewed Miss America as the girl next door, and the girl next door is evolving as diversity in America evolves. She’s not who she was 10 years ago, and she’s not going to be the same person come 10 years down the road.” The Miss America pageant is one of the most famous beauty pageants, and it is not going away anytime soon, however outdated it may seem to some. Conceptually, it is a good idea—offer a smart, beautiful woman a chance at fame. But the way we see Miss America is a vestige of a time gone by, and we need to change it. We all need to take a long, hard look at what it means to be American, and what we think it means to be beautiful. The problem lies not in Nina Davuluri, but in the people criticizing her. Can we all just agree that the winner of this beauty pageant is actually (gasp) beautiful?