For this blog, I'm returning to my first loves - fashion and pageantry (sometimes). I'd love to comment on other socio-political, quasi-economic matters, but I'm to remain mum on those since I'm in the civil service. I think everyone who has an opinion should be free to express it but it is what it is.
Of course, the rules of engagement on social media is to keep it clean so your comments don't come back to haunt you. Still there are many not so enlightened.
So on to trivial stuff ...like fashion and pageantry.
Congrats to the new Miss USA, who hails from Washington D.C., Kara McCullogh. I really liked her on the night of the pageant and rooted for her once she made the top 5. She didn't rock in interview like her predecessor, also from D.C., Deshauna Barber, but it was good to hear a strong, smart, stunning and articulate African-American from a non-traditional field like the sciences on stage - a popularity no doubt bouyed by the revelation of a small group of African-American women working for NASA back in the age of southern segregation depicted by the film, Hidden Figures. While they took some liberties with the truth, the depiction did a world of good for boosting the notion that females can succeed in sciences and mathematics. They didn't have to be an elite athlete, an elite's athlete's wife, or on the arm of an entertainer or even be a wannabe star to make it.
Which leads me to the silly controversy about Kara's responses to her final questions. Having a first degree based on the study of English and linguistics, I realise Americans don't understand language.
She said health care was a privilege for her as a government employee therefore it's important to have jobs to have healthcare. What's wrong with that? I have health insurance because I work. If I didn't and I had to depend on public health care...well let's not go there, I've had some headaches with my elderly dependents and that's all I'll say on that matter. ðŸ˜
Then there's the final Q & A on whether or not she thought she was a feminist. She said, again referring to her work environment that she would transpose feminism for equalism - which she said meant being equal to men in terms of opportunity and referring to great female leaders in the medical sciences and the office, which she has seen firsthand and wants to promote that type of leadership responsibility rather than being considered the man-bettering feminist of the burn-the-bra era of decades ago. Again what was so wrong with that? Frankly I think they picked on her because she wasn't white.
And on that note, let me remember the first Miss D.C. to win the USA crown, Shauntay Hinton, in 2002.
Another much maligned African-American delegate, who was bashed and insulted for having a non-traditional look - short pixie cut and standing at an average 5' 7", unlike Deshauna and Kara whose height at 5' 10" looks more modelesque. Today, Shauntay looks amazing. But then I've heard Oprah declare "black don't crack". Then Trump was in charge and apparently was not a fan at first but declared her the hardest working delegate at that time, having raised more money for the organisation than many of her predecessors. Again, a beautiful, intelligent black woman.
May the "sistas" continue to rise. You go gals.
