We crowned our first Indian-American woman as Miss America last week, which really exemplifies the shift in our nation’s population dynamics. An array of colors and cultures now comprise the 313.9 million people who pledge allegiance to America, which is truly the most beautiful aspect of our country. But many citizens are less than thrilled about the event that has supposedly marred the Miss America pageant.
Just minutes after the beautiful Nina Davuluri was crowned, the Twitter-sphere was flooded with ugly accusations about her race, yet another graceful public demonstration of America’s growing population of ignorant social media addicts — improper grammar and all.
Some of the Tweets included “I am literarily soo mad right now a ARAB won #MissAmerica,” “Miss America? You mean Miss 7-11,” and worst of all, “For Mrs. America’s talent…building a bomb in 15 seconds! An getting through Airport security in less than 30!”
We can be sure that thousands of others chose not to complain online, but are probably still silently stewing in their indignation. I can understand the initial surprise; we are used to the winner looking and sounding a certain way, and Davuluri doesn’t exactly fit the bill. But she is certainly not an Arab terrorist or gas station owner; she is of South Indian descent, born in New York. The outrage that she doesn’t represent our country because she is of Indian ethnicity is unfounded, because she is an American citizen like every other Miss America contestant.
Those who claim to be ill represented by her have never been more wrong. America is a melting pot of various ethnicities, religions and cultures, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, our country will cease to have a white majority in 2043. I’m not sure if people fully understand what this means: the face of the nation won’t have blue eyes and blonde hair forever, and Davuluri’s crowning was just the symbolic beginning of change.
The only people who have any real right to claim improper representation are Native Americans. Since the very first pageant, not a single Native American woman has won the title, even though someone like a Cherokee or Sioux woman would technically fit the title better than any other American beauties. After “the white man” claimed the New World as his own in 1492, the natives were bullied and mistreated, and now, they are clearly being misrepresented. Pale-skinned foreigners invaded their home and used up their resources; and now when modern-day foreigners also try to achieve success in a new land, they are greeted with hate. The irony saturating our national history is unbelievable.
The Miss America pageant has really changed since the first one in 1921. That year, there was no talent or questionnaire portion to assess if contestants had more than just good looks, and most notably, there were 50 Caucasian contestants. Only white women were permitted to enter, but because America’s population was predominantly white in that time, it was only fitting that its female spokesperson, however ceremonial her role may be, was also white. But now, the U.S. is a land of minorities, so statistically speaking, it is likely that any elected representative, like Davuluri, might belong to a minority group.
Haters can’t say she isn’t intelligent or pretty enough to wear the crown. She answered her question, posed by judge Carla Hall, with eloquence and poise. Hall asked Davuluri about her opinion on plastic surgery, in reference to former CBS news anchor Julie Chen’s recent admittance to surgically altering her “Asian eyes” to benefit her career. Davuluri’s response was inspiring: “I don’t agree with plastic surgery … More importantly, I’ve always viewed Miss America as the girl next door. And Miss America is always evolving … I wouldn’t want to change someone’s looks. Be confident in who you are.”
She addressed controversy with positive criticism, as Miss America should. Her flawless physique is also not to be overlooked; jaws dropped everywhere when a stunning Davuluri strolled onstage in a zebra-striped bikini, flaunting a figure many women have to create with silicone or extreme diets.
Davuluri certainly deserves more credit for her looks and brains than she has received thus far; she graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in brain behavior and cognitive science, aspires to become a cardiologist, like her father, and will be using her scholarship to fund her studies. She maintains strong ties to her Hindu faith and Indian culture, as she demonstrated through dance in the talent portion of the competition, but loves the country of her birth as much as the one of her ancestors. This what America is all about – capitalizing on the many opportunities available in the land of the free, but always remembering your family’s roots. Davuluri is clearly living the American dream that so many first-generation citizens share.
Because Davuluri is smart, gorgeous, talented and ambitious, the hatred must all be chalked up to old-school racism. Some Americans expect Miss America to be a blond-haired, blue-eyed bombshell who can sing and looks great in a pink evening gown, or a tap-dancing brunette from a family of four who rode horses in her childhood. But neither of these would accurately embody the modern female American spirit.
Davuluri was born in America, wants to become a doctor to help American citizens, and has volunteered to spend a year representing American females. I don’t recall anyone throwing a fit when American-born women of Irish, German or Polish descent won the Miss America title, so an American-born woman of Indian descent is just as qualified to wear the crown. Miss America 2014 could have been Chinese, African, Brazilian or Indonesian. The important things to remember is that a woman can represent any of those nationalities and also be a devoted American citizen.
