There’s been a lot of talk lately about the 2014 Miss America Pageant that took place on September 15th in Atlantic City. One of the main topics is how this particular year the contestants achieved a handful of firsts in the history of the pageant. For the very first time, an Indian-American woman won the title of Miss America 2014; congratulations goes out to Nina Davuluri! In addition, another contestant, Theresa Vail, showed off her tattoos for the first time in the history of the competition. Even though most of the chatter about this pageant has been about the negative comments from the public, I think we should focus on how this pageant can be a learning experience for us women out there. Both Nina and Theresa portray the idea that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes; as a country we are becoming more and more aware of this. Power to these women in that they radiate confidence in who they are, and what they believe in.
The women of this competition enforced integrity, hard work and devotion. Theresa Vail, for example, is a member of the Army National Guard and proudly holds the title Sergeant. She competed in the Miss America pageant after fiercely taking the Miss Kansas crown. Not only does Theresa come off as a super tough girl who lets nothing stand in her way, she also could teach us a thing or two about what it means to be truly beautiful.
Typically when you think of Miss America, you probably think of the picture perfect Barbie doll who everyone dreams of becoming- even though we totally know that is way out of the picture. And, when you think of military soldier, you probably think of a super buff man in camouflage. However, Sergeant Vail combats both of these labels. Theresa says, “Nobody expects a soldier to be a beauty queen, but I’m all about breaking stereotypes.” She is known for being the first contestant ever to refuse to hide her tattoos during the pageant. Some may argue she is doing this for the attention, but I feel that Sergeant Theresa Vail knew exactly how this could affect other young girls. Vail clarifies, “Why am I choosing to bear my tattoos? My whole platform is empowering women to overcome stereotypes and break barriers. What a hypocrite I would be if I covered my ink. How can I tell other women to be fearless and true to themselves if I can’t do the same? I am who I am, tattoos and all.” Theresa is proud to be fighting for her country, and her tattoos symbolize that exactly, with one being the Serenity prayer and the other being a U.S. Army Dental Corps logo. These represent who she is, so I would argue that there shouldn’t be any problem displaying these to the nation. Sergeant Vail is still beautiful showing off her ink, and her pride in fighting for our country, teaching women that if something is important to them, it’s okay to be willing to fight for it.
To me, Miss America is all about being a confident role model for others. Heritage and outer appearance should not even matter when it all comes down to it. Each and every woman who competes should be applauded for having the guts to stand in front of the entire country and convince everyone why they would be the best at representing America. Women in our country should take pride in who they are, and where they come from. Sergeant Theresa Vail has the right idea to promote fearlessness and strength for American women. She shows that beauty can tear down stereotypes, and that it must come from the inside.
There is no longer a cookie-cutter image of what beauty looks like in our country, because we are starting to see a difference in attitudes across the board. It truly is becoming a metamorphosis for our women to know that no matter what, they are still beautiful and that they can make a difference. Take Sergeant Vail’s advice and be fearless, because you never know when you can change the world from it.
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