You Can Lose Your Pageant Title for Professional Makeup But Not the N-Word
Pageants are always rife with controversy.
Some girls get stripped of their crown for sex tape scandals, some get dethroned for DUI’s. But whatever, right? I mean, it’s hard to be the perfect lady that beauty pageants expect them to be, who hasn’t taken a nude selfie or drank alcohol underage?
But you know what’s something that most young girls haven’t done? Used hateful language on social media.
But not all girls are Karlie Hay, the winner of this year’s Miss Teen USA. Social media is currently abuzz with people appalled that Karlie Hay is being allowed to keep her crown despite the countless tweets that have surfaced with her using the n-word (with a hard R in many cases, if for some reason you thought it was okay otherwise).
But what many angry Twitter users don’t even realize is that Miss Florida, Genesis Davila, was recently dethroned — and for something way less serious than using racially charged epithets. She wasn’t caught in a racy sex scandal or involved in hate-crimes, she simply had professional hair and makeup artists assist her prior to the competition, which goes against the pageant’s rules.
These two pageant scandals lead us to question what’s really important in the eyes of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. After all, why are there rules against professional hair and makeup artists, but no rules against contestants using racial slurs?
Sure, Genesis breached the rules during the time of the pageant whereas Karlie’s tweets were posted a few years ago, but couldn’t she at least have taken the time to delete these old tweets amidst her spray-tanning sessions and interview practices? If Twitter users hadn’t pointed out her mistakes, would she have even realized in the first place? Besides, many other queens have lost their crowns over nude pics or videos that resurfaced from years ago, so why are Karlie’s tweets any different?
With the popularity of YouTube tutorials, it’s not like the inability to use a “professional” makeup artist is really going to make that much of a difference to someone whose success is a direct reflection of how pretty they look – they can learn how to contour by themselves. What does make a difference is the fact that if somebody was ignorant and racist in 2014, they’re probably still ignorant and racist in 2016, regardless of how many times they practiced saying “world peace” in the mirror prior to the interview portion of the competition.
Then again, the people behind Miss Teen USA are probably ignorant and racist as well, considering that the top five contestants were all white and blonde with light-colored eyes, prompting people to wonder if photos of the top five were actually all the same girl. Moreover, the top 15 contained no women of color.
Miss Teen Oklahoma USA spoke out about the issue to Cosmopolitan and pointed out that “Girls have had their titles taken away from them for much less.” She also essentially called out Karlie’s weak-ass apology, saying, “She did not actually apologize. It seemed like she’s sorry that she insulted people, not she’s sorry she said it in the first place.”
It’s not that Genesis Davila should be re-crowned. After all, she knew the rules and she broke them. But the fact that Miss Teen USA allowed Karlie Hay to issue a short apology and keep her crown regardless of the multiple times she used the N-word is a bit ridiculous. It only goes to show that the majority of pageants place important on a contestant’s looks and “innocence” rather than if they’re actually a good person or not. Funny, cuz it seems like that’s how half of the world works too sometimes.
