Miss California Carrie Prejean has returned to her native San Diego after bombing in the Miss USA pageant. While the 21 year-old was thisclose to winning the crown, it was a question from panelist and gossip blogger Perez Hilton that derailed her. Had she drawn a question from any other judge—that is, to say, had God intervened—she may have won the whole diamond-encrusted schmeer. Instead, she’s back to ribbon-cutting at the latest McDonald’s.
"Gay is Bad. Just Don't Ask Who Designed This Dress."
When Hilton asked her what her opinion is on gay marriage, she responded, “We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman.” She quickly followed up with, “No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.” Had she been smart enough to answer diplomatically, or to lie, she might be Miss USA. And one has to wonder how a pageant contestant can be homophobic, considering that the pageant circuit is kept alive by the biggest queens in existence.
Have you ever seen any of the shows about pageants? Who are the pageant coaches? Who is designing pageant gowns? Who are the makeup experts? Who is teaching these women how to smile, walk AND wave all at the same time? Who even watches those stupid things, anyway? The answer: gay men. On all counts.
But Carrie Prejean stuck to her guns and answered in the only way she knew: nervously, and erroneously. In fact, we live in a land where you can choose gay marriage in only a few states. And most of those states are terrified of becoming destination wedding hotspots for the gay and lesbian community (I hear Iowa is lovely in the Spring).
Prejean received a hero’s welcome at the Rock Church, where she has found religious guidance throughout her life. The Rock Church was founded by former San Diego Chargers defensive back Miles McPherson. The San Diego Christian College junior even got to sit onstage, across from McPherson, during morning services.
I know that when I’m looking for a moral compass, I turn to the NFL (“Tell me again how I can train the dog to fetch my slippers, Mr. Vick.”).
While Prejean received a standing O at the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards, she will soon run out of such gatherings of bigots to welcome her. When she begins going about the duties of Miss California, it will be interesting to see the response she gets in, say, San Francisco. Or Hollywood.
In her defense, the questions for this pageant were fairly political across the board. Others were about domestic violence, immigrant access to health care, and using taxpayer money to bail out corporations. In truth, does anyone really care what these women think? No one watches beauty contests to hear political opinion any more than we watch the State of the Union address hoping to see a topless president.
As a way of showing that she won’t miss the diamonds and fanfare that comes with the Miss USA title, Carrie Prejean said, “I learned that God has a bigger crown than any man can give you.”
Can anybody get this girl a crown of thorns? Anyone?