but she still wants to work with children and bring about world peace

June 23, 2013 6:16 PM

Answering a question during the Miss USA pageant, Miss Utah explains the reason behind income disparity between men and women.
posted by anothermug (10 comments total)

The Miss USA pageant is even creepier that you probably thought.
posted by mcmile at 6:22 PM on June 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

I was watching this live and I just felt sorry for her. Every single question was unanswerable- "what does this say about society?" Come on. The other contestants did a little better, but not really. I put myself on the spot a little later and tried to formulate a coherent, meaningful answer on the fly, and I failed.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:23 PM on June 23, 2013

I'm pretty sure it was on tumblr where I read someone commenting about this, "You try making sense on a starvation diet."

That makes a lot of assumptions I'm not necessarily comfortable with, but I largely agree with that point.
posted by Space Kitty at 6:30 PM on June 23, 2013

It was a question that wasn't so much unanswerable, but impossible to answer honestly without expressing an opinion that would alienate somebody (and maybe in the weird little world of beauty pageants, somebody important). So she avoided, deflected, hemmed-and-hawed and tried to answer the question without answering the question. And IMO, she did better than some long-time professional politicians have done recently in similar circumstances. The idea that this has gotten so much attention (and hey, this first went memetic a WEEK ago).

Flagged for offensive.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:33 PM on June 23, 2013

I agree, it's not a fair question. Answering cogently would have been better, but she probably would have lost points were she too combative -- do they really want Miss USA to rail against the patriarchy? -- in any case, it seems like a better question for a debate team event than a beauty pageant. I mean, her floundering is lame, but it is a hardball question.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 6:35 PM on June 23, 2013

Let's all laugh at the pretty girl. Haw, haw, haw.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 6:37 PM on June 23, 2013

That's why they need to learn from, say, Bill Clinton. Compose an answer in advance and steer to it no matter what the question is.
posted by Justinian at 6:37 PM on June 23, 2013

You know, if I was asked a nonsensical question like that I don't know if I'd be able to come up with a simple answer that is relevant, accurate, non-combative, and non-patronising.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:37 PM on June 23, 2013

oneswellfoop: It was a question that wasn't so much unanswerable, but impossible to answer honestly without expressing an opinion that would alienate somebody

Not just that, but people who spend their lives studying this shit write fuckin' BOOKS that only just begin to answer the question. Do it live, on tv, on the fly, in 30 seconds? Sure, on everyone's favorite new program, America's Got Savants. Otherwise - no.
posted by tzikeh at 6:39 PM on June 23, 2013

I am trying to think of the single stupidest question I have been asked. Perhaps it was about 10 years ago, when news broke that Pvt. Jessica Lynch had been "rescued" (from the Iraqi doctors who were taking care of her, and contacting US forces to let them know they had an injured serviceperson). A news camera crew was on the street, and a reporter came up and asked me if this event "changed my opinion of the war".
posted by thelonius at 6:40 PM on June 23, 2013