Can Miss America Survive? Sasha Smith

This is the first time I'm hearing about such news. It's pretty sad. I know most of my followers are probably surprised at this comment. As a feminist that I am upset about a program that only glorifies a woman's beauty for her to win an award is something that I am sad to lose but I'm being honest.

Since I was a little girl, (even when I was in Canada,) I always enjoyed watching the pageant. I always enjoyed the Miss USA pageant and even more so the Miss World and Miss Universe. In my opinion, one of the positive aspects of the pageants is the patriotism that these women get to experience. Even in the Miss USA pageant, the women have a lot of pride in representing their home state. I think it's important to be proud of where you came from. I'm constantly talking about my national heritage and my ethnic heritage to folks I know and strangers.

Not too long ago, I found myself looking up the dates of the pageants cause I had realized that I hadn't seen one advertised for a really long time. I found out that I missed the Miss Universe and looked up the winners from the countries I'm connected to and even added these women to my Twitter account. I also realize that most recently the former Miss. South Carolina (who's currently on Amazing Race) and other pageant women who have made stupid comments or committed acts of indiscretion against the official pageant rules have given the pageant a bad name in the past couple of years. I think these women misrepresent the other hundreds of pageant women who are about something and can be good role models for young women. I almost can't believe that I'm writing this but it's true.

I personally know a former Ms. Georgia who is a wonderful role model to women and I would prefer her being a role model to my kids than Britney Spears any day. I think we have to expand our thoughts on what is seen as positive or negative and I've definitely learned to do that in the past couple of years. I think there is a major opportunity at this turning point in the pageants life span to reinvent itself and create a more modern view of what a pageant could be and bring back some nationalism.

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