The Miss America pageant isn't exactly known for its
stimulating intellectual content, but according to Fox News, its
directors are hoping to get the girls who are competing for the crown to
think about questions that can't necessarily be answered with, "World
peace."
Pageant contestants are asked questions about their beliefs and personal feelings during the "interview" portion of the contest, and the queries aren't exactly hard-hitting. But in 2009, pageant officials asked Carrie Prejean, Miss California, if she believed that gay marriage should be legalized in the United States. "I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," she answered. "No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."
Prejean's answer was controversial - she told the source that she felt it cost her the crown - but it generated enormous buzz for the pageant. This year, interviewers are planning on asking contestants similarly polarizing questions, about topics like evolution and nude photos.
Are there right and wrong answers to questions like these? Should pageant beauties be punished for expressing unpopular opinions? Is pageantry just a relic of a bygone age that's long overstayed its welcome? Tell us what you think.













