PageantCast News Desk: MISScellanea: Miss Ohio USA Pictures

A word about the USA system...

This week on the Miss Ohio (America) message board discussion about the Ohio USA pageant turned nasty for absolutely no reason at all. Of course, that's the nature of anonymity, but still no excuse. I totally agree that Miss America and Miss USA, arguably the two largest pageant systems, have their distinct differences. However, the fanatics who insist upon pitting them against each other are giving all Teen and Miss pageants a bad name. What really bothers me is the stereotyping. Many women, myself included, have competed in both systems. Some Miss America fans want to believe that "their girls" represent the Madonna, while USA girls are all the whore. That's just not true. Miss America contestants drink, have sex and take stupid pictures too, while there are Miss USA contestants as pure as the driven snow.

How ironic, those who claim to be from the more refined system actually make themselves seem more unsophisticated by the way they label an entire group of women because of the actions of a few and based on their shortsighted "ethics."

I guess I'll step off my soapbox now. Here are some great pictures, from what I consider a very worthy pageant:

The new Miss Ohio Teen USA Kelsey Stevens and Miss Ohio USA Natasha Vivoda
The final moment...
Fun in the dressing room, including something you'd never see at Miss Ohio America: CELL PHONES! Oh the horror! :)
Why, oh why, must every pageant begin with a horrible dance number?
The contestants are divided alphebetically by title into groups of fifteen; after each woman models, the whole group comes back onstage.
The photos above were snagged from the Facebook albums of Natasha Vivoda, Brooke Waddles, Tiffany Schramm, Marianna Hewitt, Jen Ciccone and Alexis Semach.