And a Red Cup Takes the Crown

I stopped watching the Miss America Pageant over 15 years ago. I couldn’t stand the skinny girls in their tiny bikinis walking the cat walk while I sat at home, frumpy, pregnant with baby number three. Watching a media induced image of perfection did nothing for my self-esteem. It was my flaw in not being able to see beyond the surface of the women – something I don’t think the rest of America or the world can get over either.

And though I didn’t watch it this year, thanks to the awesomeness of YouTube and social media I don’t feel like I missed out; that is, with the exception of the talent portion. The contestants did everything from dancing and singing to even sharing a duet with a puppet but it was the unexpected charm of Miss New York sitting cross-legged and comfy on the stage in a pantsuit and bare feet singing Pharrell’s Happy while clapping and tapping on a red tumbler that stole the show and eventually the judge’s hearts.

Unfortunately not everyone shared in the excitement of Miss New York’s simple looking but complex talent and I don’t understand why. As fast as Miss Ohio could throw out a Supercalifragilistic… did social media turn on Miss New York.  Tweets like

“All these parents spending all this $$$ on dance lessons when all they needed was a solo cup #missamerica”

“The judges were obviously drugged with whatever was in her cup. #missamerica”

“someone who plays cups as a talent just won #missamerica. Our country is in the gutter”

Tweets like these and worse filled the interwebs and social media everywhere on Sunday night. It broke my heart.

Can we stop thinking about the cup for a moment and ask ourselves, “Would I be able to get up on that stage and perform in front of the world and be willing to be judged?”

I bet the answer is no. I know I couldn’t do it.

I think what really puts this country in the gutter is how we don’t know how to let people be themselves and embrace the uniqueness that we all have inside of us.

Let’s talk about the hypocrisy of those social media comments. We’re the same social media users who made a YouTube sensation out of Sarah Stone’s version of Lorde’s Royals (played on a cup, lest I remind you). Sarah currently has over five million views on that video alone.

Yes little girls, you can play the cups and have a real talent.

I have a 15 year old daughter and I don’t want her to get the wrong message about being comfortable in her own skin and from what I see the message we’re sending is; hide your personality. Shun what makes you unique and special and for goodness sake, don’t display your uniqueness to the world because the world will chew you up and spit you out.

The shining light in this is how our newly crowned Miss America has reacted to the criticism. Kira told the Associated Press –

“The reason why I chose to do that talent is I wanted every single little girl in America to be able to see that you can do that talent — you can do whatever talent you want on national television — even with a red cup — and still be Miss America and have the time of your life,”

“I literally in that minute and 30 seconds had the most fun I’ve ever had, and that’s because I stayed true to myself and I did what I wanted to do for my talent, no matter what everybody else told me, and it paid off. I’m very happy about it.”

It is my sincerest hope that we can take away more than critiquing a woman’s talent and bravery to be herself from the Miss America pageant. But bigger than that, it’s my hope that Kira Kazantsev will teach all of our young boys and girls about being true to themselves and not listening to the critics who will work to tear them down in her new role as Miss America.

And then maybe, just maybe more of the cup playing, singing, ventriloquists of the world will be brave enough to shine their light on national television and give inspiration to our children.