Miss California Keeps Her Title

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?

1. With few exceptions. [↩]
2. 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. [↩]