Military And Diversity Represented At The 2016 Miss USA Pageant
Miss USA’s 2016 champion, Deshauna Barber, is the first-ever military member and ninth African-American to win in the pageant’s 64-year history.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
An African American hasn’t won a title since Caressa Cameron in 2010. Carole Anne-Marie Gist of Michigan was the first Black woman to sweep the title in 1990, but Vanessa Williams WMB +2.41%, who is biracial (half white and half Black), earned the crown in 1983.
This year’s Miss USA pageant, held at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, saw 52 contestants for the first time ever. Alexandra Miller, the 52nd, was elected into the running based on fan’s votes on social media, and she also happened to be the Miss Oklahoma runner-up.
Barber entered the competition as Miss District of Columbia, but she called many states home growing up – from North Carolina, Nebraska, Minnesota, Virginia and finally to Washington, D.C. – to follow her father’s position as an Army Master Sergeant. She eventually traced her dad’s footsteps to become a Quartermaster Officer in 2011 and then an Army Reserve Logistics Commander in Fort Meade, Maryland.
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In addition to her military career, Barber holds a Bachelor’s ofScience in Business Management from Virginia State University. She currently works as an IT Analyst for the U.S. Department of Commerce in D.C. She specifically dedicates her efforts to preventing suicide in the Armed Forces and improving posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment for returning soldiers.
The 26-year-old beauty gave a sophisticated, feminist response when asked for her thoughts about the Pentagon’s recent decision to open all combat positions to women. She stated, “I think it is an amazing job by our government to allow women to integrate into every branch of the military. We are just as tough as men. As a commander of my unit, I am powerful. I am dedicated, and it’s important to recognize that gender does not limit us in the United States Army.”
She embodied the “confident beauty” that was the theme of this year’s pageant, denouncing judgment based on her looks. “Serving in the military has taught me that being confidently beautiful is about being able to earn respect from people regardless of what you look like. As a woman in the military, people associate beauty with weakness,” she said.
Barber Instagrammed that her smoky-eye, dark-lip look was done by Leah Laviano, a makeup artist based in Virginia Beach. She also noted that she was dressed and sponsored by Diane and Company, a New-Jersey gown retailer.
Barber is fortunate she wasn’t prompted the same final question as her runner-up Miss Hawaii, who was asked to choose between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump for the upcoming presidential election.
2016 marks the first time presidential candidate and likely Republican nominee Donald Trump is disassociated with the event. Trump, who formerly owned half of the Miss Universe organization, stirred controversy last year when his racial comments upset NBC and resulted in a business divorce. FOX broadcast the Miss USA show instead this year.
At least this year’s viewership wasn’t nearly as atrocious as last year’s all-time low of 925,000, compared to this Sunday’s 4.04 million. However, ratings still followed the downward trend seen since 2005.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/karenhua/2016/06/06/military-and-diversity-represented-at-the-2016-miss-usa-pageant/#17c53354d72d
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