Analysis

Nina Davuluri was crowned with the prestigious title of Miss America 2014, making her the first Indian-American woman to ever win the competition. She was definitely worthy of the honor; having brains, beauty, and talent. Nina graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science. Growing up she also studied Indian Classical dance styles, Kuchipuchi and Bharatanatyam. She used her knowledge to prepare her for the talent portion of the competition. She showcased her dancing through a combination of Bollywood and Indian Classical dance moves. It was the first time the Miss America Pageant had ever seen a Bollywood inspired piece performed on stage (Wikipedia). Just that fact alone may have been the spark of racism about to light after Nina was crowned. A number of racist remarks about Nina circuited the social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook. People questioned “what America was coming to by crowning a Muslim?” (People were relating her to the 911 attacks). The ignorant bashings continued for about two weeks, and slowly were put out after many appearances made by Nina defending her religion; which is actually Hinduism, and views on America as “a forever changing nation.” Nina Davuluri became Miss America 2014 because she performed each section of the competition in a way no other girl could. She won the crown by portraying confidence and poise during evening gown, bathing suit, and interview; as well as showing pride for where she came from.

​In the Miss America competition there are four sections: personal interview, swimwear, evening gown, and on-stage interview. The personal interview section is all about showcasing your personality and intelligence to a panel of judges. You only receive 10 minutes each with two panels of four judges. Nina Davuluri’s message she made a priority to deliver to the judges was, “celebrating diversity through cultural competency." She told the judges that she's had to dispel a lot of misconceptions about her culture through the year, such as whether her parents will arrange a marriage for her. In my opinion the judges probably related to her having real life struggles compared to the other contestants putting on a “perfect and accomplished” shield. Nina’s background won her this portion of competition, and continued to carry her through the rest of the show.

The preliminary competition is where the contestants compete in bathing suit, evening gown, and talent. Nina wore a tiger stripped bikini with much confidence earned from losing sixty pounds prior to winning Miss New York. She had struggled with a specific eating disorder, bulimia. After winning Miss America, she stated in an interview that she wanted to show girls that stick skinny does not always win. She showed her own personal style during the evening gown competition while wearing a fitted, jersey-style, yellow dress. It complimented her golden skin perfectly, and fit her like a glove. An interviewer asked one of the other contestants if the judges base their score on the most expensive dress. She replied, “Half the judges don’t even know the designer of any of the gowns onstage. (Miss America; The politics of sex, Beauty, and Race) It’s all about the fit, and how you present yourself in it!” When it came to talent, Nina Davuluri definitely had it. She showcased a classical Bollywood fusion dance piece as her talent. She had prepared by flying to Los Angeles, months before Miss America, to work with Nakul Dev Mahajan, a choreographer with the So You Think You Can Dance television show. She also had formal training in Indian dance for the past 15 years, including summers in India (Houston Smith). After seeing swimwear, evening gown, and talent the judges  then tally up their scores to determine which five lucky ladies will move on to the final round of Miss America, onstage interview.  

Nina, the second woman called forward to answer the dreaded onstage question, was asked about the wisdom of TV anchor getting plastic surgery on her eyes to alter her appearance. She said “I am against plastic surgery, but people should make their own choice but be confident in their appearances.” Her answer was a perfect way to finalize her overall performance, and she walked away later that night at Miss America 2014. Knowing a lot about pageants myself from watching and competing in them, I was able to agree with why Nina Davuluri won. You have to have the “whole package.” She executed each section of the competition no other girl seemed to do. She walked away that night as the first Indian- American Miss America title, and 50,000 dollars in scholarship money. In conclusion, watching Nina Davuluri win Miss America inspired me to forget the background struggles I have and go for my dream of becoming Miss USA.

Work Cited
Watson, Elwood, and Darcy Martin. There She Is, Miss America: The Politics of Sex, Beauty, and Race in America's Most Famous Pageant. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Print.

Stern, Howard. Miss America. New York: Regan, 1995. Print.