One of my friends had a family member who was dating a state pageant queen. They broke up -- technically, the contract said she could date him, but that they weren't allowed to have any physical contact in public (not so much as as hand holding), she certainly couldn't spend the night with him, and basically wasn't allowed to do anything that might start rumors she was sleeping with him. They wanted to make things work, but basically not being allowed to be with him put enough of a strain on the relationship that it didn't. How very crappy.

Vanessa really hits the nail on the head when she talks about the dichotomy at play in those pageants. These women are being paraded around as pure sex objects, yet they're supposed to be virgins (or at least "act" like virgins). Even more ludicrous is the fit pageant organizers throws whenever a contestant poses in the nude, even though they're required to wear the skimpiest outfits during the pageants so dirty old men can ogle their bodies from every possible angle.

This might sound a bit off-topic, but when Princess Diana married Charles (she was 19), she was forced to undergo a virginity exam--seriously.

I think that pagents and their "queens" are supposed to somehow mimic a system of royality within a semi-democratic tableau. The "queens" are voted on according to beauty, talent, and of course "intelligence"--World Peace! (remember Ms. Congeniality?). Anyway, the point is, originally, similarly for sororieties, the bylaws include references to purity and virginity.

Of course, "beauty pagents" are just the most ridiculous examples of patriarchal mass-reinforcement of women's suboridination and sex-object status. Part of suboridinating women, is that those you raise up (think The Virgin Mary--a virgin mother?), must be "pure" and those that you put down, maybe even hold down, you call slut but still sexually exploit. Just don't be fooled by re-labeling these crazy-ass things "Scholarship Competitions."

This was the pageant queen who was on Project Runway, right? I remember liking her, and thinking she had some spirit, so I guess this is depressingly not surprising...

Well, duh. The "most beautiful" woman in the country has to be a prize. You know, something to be purchased and owned eventually. And what kind of a prize would she be if she'd been used? You wouldn't give a used car the best car of the year award would you?

How disgustingly pathetic. I hate pageants for a number of reasons, and this just adds another one to my list.

I personally think the cocaine use is the only legitimate concern for them to have, and even then only because of its association with self-abuse. Miss America should be self-assured, not self-medicating to become disgustingly skinny. "Underage" drinking at 20? Oh give me a break. American is so freakin' puritanical.

I'd heard about the Diana thing... kind of makes me wonder if the rumors that the Royal Family had her and Dodi killed -- recently "disproved" by the same Scotland Yard who completely botched the Jack the Ripper investigation last century -- might not have some truth to them.

I do understand the cocaine, and, yes, underage drinking restrictions. If these women are supposed to be role models for other girls, they can at least not break the law. (Or, as with underage drinking, have the sense to not get caught.) Anyone who takes on a very public role is almost taking on a political role as well. It should be well-known that one's actions will be scrutinized by the public and reflect upon the pageant itself.

That said, a big "EEEWWWW" to the virgin-in-swimsuit thing. I think some of it is that they want men to be able to fantasize about the women without thinking, "She's taken." But, still, eeewwwww.

Miss America's board has a right, as a private organisation, to impose any requirements that it likes upon contestants and Queens. The only thing that it should do is make those requirements explicit and state them before women enter the contest (and also let viewers know of them!). We should not wonder why the contest is shrinking in popularity every year - that, my feminist friends, is the good news.

oenophile -

I certainly hope these women are not held up as "role models" - even if she didn't get caught drinking and using coke.

What's also ridiculious here is that Donald Trump is judging someone else about their lifestyle. That glass house he is living in must be awfully drafty.

As for Ms. Connor, beyond the double standard this illustrates( if there were such things as male beauty pagents, I have a feeling Ms. Connor's alleged illicit behavior would be part of the event, like the talent or swimsuit competition), it also points out when you put yourself in the public eye, all of your behavior is available for scolds and idiots to judge you on. I don't think what she did was wrong in any way, shape, or form, I am just saying that when you choose to have a public life, you don't get to choose which parts of that life people will pay attention to or judge you on, rightly or wrongly.

This whole thing reads to me like the quickest way Trump could get a big dose of publicity for a beautiy pagent nobody has ever heard of. It seems to have worked.

Who still holds these girls up as role models anyway? Last I heard the ratings for the pagent were the lowest they'd ever been in their history, no one is really watching this anymore.

Say what you will about choice and everything but "beauty" pagents really are the last bastion where women are strutted out as possesions to be oogled and owned for a year. Besides Vanessa L. Williams what have the other contestants done (I'm trying not to be mean but I really don't know any other success stories besides Miss Williams).

Oh yeah, I'm at home with the family for the holidays and they have a dial up connection (ugh) so I'll be sparse with the comments on posts for a few weeks.

According to TMZ, Trump has known about her failed drug test for weeks. He could've fired her way before this hit the news and kept it out of the papers, but he decided to let it go as big as it would in order to drum up publicity.

Also, the Miss Teen USA, Katie Blair, has similar charges against her (boyfriends, underage drinking), but Trump&Co are officially denying the rumors. The only difference between the two is the failed cocaine test, so I think that and publicity are really what's at stake here.

Otherwise, right on with the analysis. Beauty pageants are bizarre.