There he is, Mr. USA
Behold Carrie Prejean, every inch a product of the new beauty pageant aesthetic. Compliments of the Miss California USA organization, her breasts have been enhanced, and now, compliments of the religious right, her mildly anti-gay-marriage sentiments have been augmented as well. Prejean’s response to a question about same-sex marriage -- that she didn’t personally approve of it, though she favored personal freedom -- made her a YouTube darling and an overnight celebrity, even if it may have cost her the national pageant crown. No matter; the real crown rests atop the combed-over dome of pageant owner Donald Trump, who once again demonstrated Tuesday his mastery at hogging center stage.
Beauty contests are all about American values -- and nobody understands like The Donald how those values can change. The Miss America pageant embodied the search for the ultimate bride, the lovely young woman who also is smart, demure and talented, even if twirling fire-tipped batons would never count for much at future PTA meetings. No wonder the Miss America pageant is tanking while Trump’s Miss USA franchise, the contest of the hot babes, gets all the Google mentions. This is the pageant that helps finance breast implants for contestants. Did anyone really believe that Trump, master of the provocative, might fire Prejean on Tuesday for airing controversial opinions and posing for photos while scantily clad? That kind of thing is practically in Miss USA’s job description.
In the weeks since the pageant, Prejean has been fashioned into a sex bomb for the culture wars. Under the embrace of conservative groups and on their platform, her comments on marriage took a harder line. According to officials at the Miss California USA organization, Prejean’s new role as a 21st century Anita Bryant was keeping her from attending required public appearances. That irked the organization’s sponsors, though Prejean was bringing the pageant more publicity than all the ribbon-cuttings in the world ever could.
Even if the California officials don’t understand the true purpose of the Miss USA pageant, its owner does. Under the agreement brokered by Trump, Prejean gets to keep her opinions about marriage, but she must obey pageant officials on where and how to express them. Everybody gives up a little, except for Trump, who got exactly what he wanted: the limelight.
