Miss California Keeps Her Title
May 16, 2009 by MInTheGap
Filed under Articles, Modesty in the News
Visited 5257 times, 7 so far today
I don’t believe a year passes without some incident with the beauty pageants, and I’m not all convinced that some of it is contrived for the purpose of trying to gain some sort of attention. A competition based mostly on appearance (the way that a woman looks in a formal, a swimsuit, etc.), a couple of softball questions, and winning multiple rounds seems like a previous generations’ way of finding a moral way to look at women without a stigma or guilt.
That being said, the Internet has made things more difficult for any that seek the public limelight.
A Sick and Twisted Path
Why is it that any woman that wants to be an actress must have photographs taken in various stages of undress in order to get the top roles?1 Why is it that a woman is said to have broadened her horizons and done something positive for her career when she bares her top?
For some time it was assumed that the path to fame and fortune lied in front of the photographer’s lens. And many young ladies with good figures have bought into this trap.
Miss California—Carrie Prejean—believed this lie. She posed for a photographer on at least two different occasions wearing (or not wearing) clothing that would be unsuitable to display on this site. While one set of photos does show images that were “between shots”—the shots that were planned would not make it into our Quick Review process.
She thought she was doing something for her career, and yet she was actually feeding the dehumanization and objectification of women everywhere.
She Keeps the Crown
She was able to keep her title as Miss California, after Donald Trump ruled that the photos were “not that bad” and that her views were in line with the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, etc.
But what does that say about the photos?
One of the comments I thought was interesting was made from another site, where the site author made the comment that the first photo of Prejean was comparable to what she wore in the swimsuit competition2. To me, this makes my point entirely.
What was she doing in that situation? How can she say that dressing like that for men to see her and look on her like that is fine, but those other photos are wrong. How can she draw the line at posing in her underwear (effectively), but then say that just a little less is grossly immoral.
Why We Encourage Modesty
It’s not just Biblical—it starts there, but it doesn’t end there. You are more than your body, young ladies. You are more than a pretty face, more than your curves, or how well or poorly you’ve developed. You are a unique individual, created special by God for a purpose. You have more power covered than you will ever have mostly-nude like these contestants. They seek a fame that will perish.
Your message is important. Miss Prejean’s message is good—marriage is for one man and one woman—but what is the character of the speaker? Why should I listen to a woman in a beauty contest that says that she’s a Christian and believes one thing, while at the same time she’s parading around in her underwear causing men to stumble?
Our lives are a picture—what does your life, your actions, and your attire say about who you are—and more importantly, who you serve?
- With few exceptions. [↩]
- Here’s the link, but be warned that it has photos from Prejean’s swimsuit competition and the first photo with her in underwear only with her back turned. [↩]
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I agree. While I think its great that she stood up on the marriage issue, its nice to see that some still believe in true marriage. I don’t really see how people with true christian character can pose in their underwear in front of the world! A lot of times we like to deal with the heart of people when it comes to modesty. And I do think thats the foundation for it. But this is a good example of how action matter too!! You need to practice what you preach or else its not gonna do you much good.
Yep, I totally agree! How can you claim to be a follower of God, yet blatantly parade yourself around in direct disobedience to His Word? I hope that someday Carrie realizes her emptiness and turns to the Father. (I’m not trying to be judgmental. Hey, that could be any one of us if not for His grace.)
Amen! This is a great post and thread. It’s really sad to see things like that, yet God’s grace is able to save.
Thanks for the reminder to always keep God #1.
I can’t imagine how people with true christian character can pose in their underwear in front of the world. A lot of times we like to deal with the heart of people when it comes to modesty.
.-= end of the World´s last blog ..The predictions and prophecies of 2012 =-.
Carrie Prejean deserves to have her crown. She is beauiful and is also entitled to her own opinion about gays. “.
I’ve seen Carrie Prejean in person and i would have to say that she is just average looking:“
I can’t believe women say they are Christians and then stand basically naked in front of a house full of staring men. What a mark against true Christians. I can see why some people say they don’t want to become Christians.
To them, they must think they’re doing something culturally acceptable. They don’t see what they’re doing is wrong– possibly from a conscience that has been seared through repeated exposure. Ours is not to judge one another, but to stand firm on what God has told us and pray for others and uplift them.
I agree with Erin. The same goes for Maria what’s-her-name, a supermodel that claims to be a Christian. How she thinks she can be a follower of Jesus AND a “sex-goddess” simultaneously is beyond me!
While Christ has not given us authority to judge, He has told us, “by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matt. 7:20
I think that we need to be careful when we start talking salvation. Yes, many people seem to be hypocritcal, but in some ways we probably are too. If they are a believer, it’s probably something that they haven’t been convicted about. Just because it’s "obvious" to us, doesn’t mean it is to eveyone.
Thank you for the reminder. Yes, there are areas in my life where I need to grow. In reality I’m not any better they are.
Not only do I desire to guard my purity, by I’m concerned for the men in my life also. I think that may be one of the reasons it’s easy (but not right) to react harshly toward such people. But I have to remind myself that ranting at a few individuals does not erase the impurity of the world. Plus, Jesus teaches us to love everyone.
We are supposed to love the sinner and hate the sin. The person is obviously traveling down the wrong path. I’m not trying to judge the person. Though in the Bible you can judge. You have to be careful to use the same measuring stick. Like you said Annegirl, you will know them by their fruit. If there is no good fruit then the person was never a Christian to begin with. A lot of people just like to use the term “Christian” because they’ve gone to church.
I think you’re right on here. The hard part about these "celebrities" is that we only see this one part of their life, with what we think is a pretty obvious problem. We don’t see whether they’re involved in their local church, whether they are witnessing, etc. So we jump to some conclusions because we think, "Why would a Christian wear her underwear on television?!" and we forget that there’s more to the person than that. Not that many of us will ever meet one of these people.
I feel sorry for women who cheapen themselves like this. They think they only have as much value as their looks. They don’t know any better and whose to tell them?
#Feb2011NCARating
Well I’m back to rate this article. I’ve lately been thinking a lot about beauty, physical self-acceptance, and cultural pressure.
Within Christian circles: how can we help women, and especially teen girls to accept themselves as God’s precious creation?
#Feb2011NCARating
I feel sorry for those women, but sometimes I’m one of them to an extent. They say that one way to find your own healing is to help others. As to what can be done for these women, I think this guy hit the nail on the head! http://www.danoah.com/2010/10/worthless-women-and-men-who-make-them.html
I just read that article, Abigail. Wow! Praise the Lord that some people are starting to wake up to the destructive effect of the unrealistic standard. May we all band together to support reality and live and love what God has designed.
I just read that article- that was amazing. I pray that more men will be like that (and hopefully my future hubby), only without the crude bodypart references. Imagine the pressure that would be taken off women if we only had to look good for our husbands, and not for the rest of the world. We can only pray.