Thursday, May 14, 2009

Of Bimbos, Nipple Slips, and US Americans

Like every other asshole in America, I have an opinion on Carrie Prejean, and hapless Katie Rees, and it's an ugly one.

Frankly, I had no problem with Carrie Prejean's answer to Perez Hilton's question. She's entitled to her opinion, just like any other religious right Neanderthal. She's also entitled to lose the contest if the judges don't like her answer.

I have no problem with her nude shots (and judging by TMZ, there ARE nude shots). It's the 21st Century. Just about everybody's doing it, including people we'd probably prefer to never see naked. It does make her a bit of a hypocrite, if I remember my summer before high school reading of the bible (a reading which did more than anything to help me realize that the various sects of Christianity were nucking futs to base an organized religion on it), but ultimately that's between her and her invisible sky being.

The line of departure was when she decided to go Full Metal Anita Bryant (minus the talent, plus the silicone funbags) and hold her self up as the latest spokesmodel of hate.

Consider, by comparison, poor hapless Miss Nevada, Katie Rees. Yes, her photos are racier, by a good factor or two. But unlike Miss Prejean's actions, Katie Rees's photographs don't actually hurt anybody. Her actions will not prevent a loving, committed gay or lesbian couple from seeing their significant other in a hospital, or create a situation where the family takes their daughter's or son's money, leaving their long-term lover high and dry in a nasty probate dispute. Miss Prejean did that.

Yet Miss Prejean, silicone funbags and lousy work habits (has she attended one contractual event in her role as Miss California?) gets to keep her job, Miss Rees is out of luck.

Let's not pretend that beauty pageants are any great thing. As a heterosexual male, I like looking at scantily clad beautiful women as much as anybody. Beauty pageants are nothing but soft core porn for people with nothing but basic cable (minus the topless shots; those, apparently come two weeks after the contest, if this year is any guide). The talent competitions are laughable, and the pretense that a 19 year old girl/woman, chosen almost exclusively on her looks in as little clothing as one can show on TV without bringing down the wrath of the FCC, can offer up anything in the way of deep thinking about world peace, civil rights, the economy or anything else is a farce.

If anything good comes out of this at all, it's that we just keep getting closer to the day when these dog and pony bikini shows wink out of existence. It's a day I look forward to, frankly.

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