Drama at the 2009 Miss USA pageant

Whether or not one agrees with Miss California USA Carrie Prejean’s views about marriage, she deserves respect for having the courage to stand on her convictions at the expense of a goal she had worked so long and hard to achieve.

Millions watched April 19 as a judge questioned the San Diego native about the controversial issue in the final round of the Miss USA pageant. Some were surprised when, in response to a judge’s question about same-sex marriage, she politely stated that she believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. The judge who asked the question, gay celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, later lambasted her for both her opinion and for not giving a politically correct answer.

Had Ms. Prejean lied about her opinion or not disclosed it, she probably would have won. Donald Trump, the pageant’s owner, said as much in a subsequent interview.

Well coached pageant contestants know that their chances of winning improve when they respond to politically charged, potentially divisive questions with noncommittal, vague answers. That Ms. Prejean, a 21-year-old model and college student, knew that yet chose to stand on her personal convictions at the cost of the crown is commendable. It’s especially admirable at a time when too many people have no convictions, let alone the courage to stand on them.

It wasn’t the San Diego native’s honesty that caused her to place second after Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton. It was a flawed judging process that may have allowed one judge to tilt the outcome.

In the best scoring system, one or two judges on a moderately large panel can not sway an entire decision against or in favor of a contestant. With an adequate number of judges - Miss USA had 12 telecast judges - and the highest and lowest scores thrown out, the truest consensus of how the judging body thinks contestants should place has a way of emerging.

Another way to make judging most fair is to ask finalists the same questions, or interview them together in a group setting to gauge their conversational skills in answering multiple questions at random. This has been done before.

Pageant drama of any kind invariably opens the door to criticism that pageants are sexist and exploit women. That tired refrain ignores the reality that pageants staged on local and global stages are usually about more than good looks. Nearly 20 years of experience as a pageant volunteer, coach, judge and emcee have taught me that pageant participants generally end up more poised, polished and success-ready than the average person.