New Yorker- Nina Davuluri, an American-born New Yorker of Indian descent was crowned Miss America last night. Ordinarily, this would be a seemingly happy moment that a woman representing the Miss America pageant would also represent the melting pot of American culture, but many Americans had a different idea about Davuluri’s win.
Many Americans reactions on twitter emphasized their dismay at an “Arab” winning the pageant, although Davuluri is an Indian-American. Referencing Egypt, Al-Qaeda, and September 11th, many people on Twitter only sought to highlight their own ignorance by lumping Indians, Arabs, and North Africans into one ambiguous ethnicity.
Buzzfeed put together a list of the most outrageous reactions to Davuluri’s victory. The responses ranged from—
Incorrectly claiming her nationality:
“And the Arab wins Miss America. Classic”
“Egypt dancing? This is America”
To “patriotism”:
“I swear I’m not racist but this is America”
“Miss New York is an Indian…with all do respect, this is America.”
To absurd:
“9/11 was 4 days ago and she gets miss America?”
“@ABC2020 nice slap in the face to the people of 9-11 how pathetic #missamerica”
To somehow linking a beauty pageant to terrorist groups:
“Miss America right now or miss Al Qaeda?”
“Congratulations Al-Qaeda. Our Miss America is one of you.”
“Miss America is a terrorist. Whatever. It’s fine”
What Davuluri’s crowning really represents is America’s step in the direction of recognizing other forms of beauty as legitimate. Gone are the days of Barbie-perfect looks, with such a mixed culture, the status quo has been eliminated, and the standard of beauty has been broadened to include all ethnicities.
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