Miss USA: Enough is Enough

Miss Massachusetts decorated as a slut for Miss USA 2010 contest
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Beauty contests by their very nature are rather creepy affairs. They market young ladies as some kind of priceless commodity judged in about the same manner as show dogs in the Westminster dog shows. While Miss America maintains a squeaky clean image and the girls get scholarships, Miss USA, owned and operated by Donald Trump was originated by a bathing suit company. Last year, a huge scandal broke loose after Miss California, Carrie Prejean, a staunch traditional fundamentalist Christian answered a loaded question why she opposed homosexual marriage. Her answer created an immediate media firestorm that polarized pro and anti homosexual forces with the media damning Prejean for what they would view as her prejudiced archaic views while conservative talk show hosts made her their darling.
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Controversy brings attention. Nobody appreciates that better than "the Donald." However, from a promotion standpoint, it's better to create the controversy than be subjected to it, so to make sure the 2010 pageant could rival the 2009 contest, they've developed a campaign which surely will create notice. In advance of the contest, all the contestants were dressed in trashy lingerie and mutilated with slutty looking makeup posing provocatively in bold black and white photos that look like something out of Penthouse magazine. Perhaps the notion was that would drive out any contestants like Prejean who might be offended to be painted up like a common whore.
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This is media exploitation at its finest. Miss America is no longer on network TV. You can bet NBC is applauding their ratings will be higher thanks to the cheesy photo shoot of anxious young girls attempting to make a name for themselves.
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While we usually think actions on behalf of many women's advocacy groups are more about advancing idiotic left wing politics than truly looking out for women, we would welcome an outcry on this. Any beautiful woman who would seek to promote herself on the basis of her abilities and intellect could surely see this as a setback to crumbling the glass ceiling.