Rosalind Wiseman

It’s always good to start a wet Sunday morning laughing at absurdity. That is what I did after reading the Miss California Pageant paid for contestant Carrie Prejean’s recent boob job because they wanted to increase her self-esteem.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview between Maggie Rodriguez, the co-host of CBS’s Early Show and Keith Lewis, the co-director of the Miss California pageant.

LEWIS: “We want to put her in the best possible confidence in order to present herself in the best possible light on a national stage…. it’s not something that we endorse, nor is it something that we suggest.

RODRIGUEZ: Why is the best possible confidence involve getting breast implants? Why in that meeting don’t you discourage her from going that route, rather than help her to pay for breast implants?

LEWIS: … it’s a personal choice. Well, I think that it’s about how a woman feels about herself. In terms of, for me, it’s not a personal choice that I would recommend. But at the same time, I know so many women that have done the procedure and feel better about themselves and the way they present themselves….It’s just a matter of whether or not you want to go to that next level.

RODRIGUEZ: But don’t the judges look at proportion when they’re judging the swimsuits? Wouldn’t she have a better chance of winning if she were more proportioned?

LEWIS: Well, of course she does. But there’s plenty of ways of getting to more proportion without doing breast implants.

RODRIGUEZ: … if you have a flat chest, what are you supposed to do?

LEWIS: You use chicken cutlets. You use tape. You use anything that you can to enhance the line. There’s lots of tricks of the trade.

RODRIGUEZ: I wonder if you should change the rules and maybe not judge it so much on proportion.

LEWIS: Well, it’s a beauty pageant, and the swimsuit competition is part of that beauty pageant. So, I agree with you, I think that we have to look at the way that we perceive real women and whether that needs to be changed in the media.
First of all credit should go to Ms. Rodriguez, while not shoving in his face the blatant illogic of his comments, she did push Mr. Lewis more than many other news anchors would have in her place.

But seriously, aren’t you curious to know if Mr. Lewis actually believes what’s coming out his mouth, or does he feel forced to say it because the pageant organizers actually believe people will buy what he’s saying?

But what I always wonder when I hear people say things that are so transparently ridiculous is, “what does he really think?” Does Keith Lewis actually believe the pageant didn’t encourage her to get the boob job? Does he really think that personal choices are made in a vacuum? Does he not understand that the environment in which that personal choice is made feels like an imperative if you want “take it to the next level?”

But it’s just so much easier to not take responsibility, say some silly sound bites and rationalize you’re only doing what anyone in your place would do.

Is it any wonder that the teens are cynical and don’t take adults seriously?