Miss America 2014: American as Apple Pie

I am not a fan of beauty pageants. They value external over internal beauty, objectify women as sexual objects, and contribute to increased body insecurities. However, thanks to overt and unapologetic ignorance and racism directed at the new Miss America, beauty pageants have once again become significant. The new Miss America , Nina Davuluri, a 24-year-old Syracuse native and University of Michigan graduate who aspires to be a doctor, is the first Miss America of Asian Indian descent. This historic moment in the world of beauty pageants has caused outrage amongst some Americans who took to social media to vent about their frustration that a brown skinned Indian-American won the title of Miss America. There were many haters and also many supporters of the changing face of Miss America that caused the interwebs to buzz today with conversations about race and American authenticity. Public Shaming captured some of the ignorance and hate displayed on twitter to illustrate the disapproval of some Americans.

The newly crowned Miss America is perceived by some (who understand that the U.S. is an increasing multicultural society) to be as American as “apple pie” and perceived by others (who apparently still adhere to the false notion that Americans are a homogenous people) to be a foreign, un-American outsider. The reality is that what it means to be “American” is not the same as it was 20, 10, or even 5 years ago. Continued immigration and increasing interracial marriages have caused a shift in demographics in this country. For the first time in the history of our nation, White children are the minority population – It has been projected that by the years 2050, that people of color will out-number White people.

We may not all be ready for this paradigm shift, but we should really begin to wrap our heads around the changing demographics of our country and work towards reflecting the diversity of our nation across the various industries in our nation. In order to reflect the changing demographics, we need to see more people of color and immigrant populations assume roles and positions of power and privilege. Professors, government officials, CEO’s, celebrities, and yes- even beauty queens should be representative of the dynamic and ever evolving identity of Americans. We must begin to shift our ideas of what and who an American is, what they represent, and most importantly what they look like. Our image of what an “American” looks like needs be expanded to include different skin tones, phenotypes, accents, and hair textures. This perception change needs to happen because let’s be real- America is a diverse nation of people- and has been for some time now. Doing so will only be beneficial to the millions of ethnically and racially diverse young people (who will soon be the majority) in our country.

I did not have the luxury of growing up in an America in which Asian-Indians were represented in the media- When I flipped through magazines, watched movies, and tuned in to the Miss America pageant- I most certainly did not see people who looked like me. Instead, I had mostly White, tall, thin, and flawless women to look up to or aspire to be like (something that I never quite managed to do!). There was a lack of Asian Indian representation in my formative days- few (if any) role models or notable women to help demystify or negate the mindless stereotypes associated with Asian Indian women . Thankfully, those days seem to be long behind us. Today, there are respected Indian women who are leaders in their industries who are making a mark in American society. People such as Padma Lakshmi, Rachel Roy, Indra Nooyi, Mindy Kaling, Jhumpa Lahir, and now Nina Davuluri represent the Indian American female diaspora. These women give voice and represent the millions of Asian Indian women and help the larger public to see that Indian Americans are a heterogeneous and culturally rich ethnic group rather than a homogenous one. I am elated that the younger generation of Indian woman in America have these role models to look up to-and relate to.

So all of you out there who are hating that a beautiful brown girl is our new Miss America- stop your whining and deal with it. Try to get used to the idea that a dark skinned, brown haired, bilingual woman who is a classically trained Indian dancer is just as American as a white skinned, blonde haired, blue eyed, tattooed woman who can skin a deer and cook up a mean squirrel stew. Additionally, you should take a few minutes to read this short article and educate yourself on the differences between Indians, Arabs, Egyptians, and Muslims so that you can avoid further embarrassment and exposure of the lack of intelligence and understanding of basic geography and world religions. Finally, I want to thank your utter ignorance for illustrating to the world that racism is still very much alive in our country and for calling attention to the fact that as a nation- we are in dire need of further understanding and education about the undeniable increasing cultural diversity and the implications this diversity may have on our nation.

As I mentioned earlier, I am not a fan of the beauty pageant industry- but I have to give props to the Miss America organization for representing the diversity of Americans, for resisting traditional Euro-centric notions of beauty, and for forcing our nation to face the reality that the All American girl next door that we all once knew has just gotten a major makeover!