Haters Gonna Hate: Miss America is Indian and American, and Why This is a Milestone for South Asian Females

by Aishika  J

Last Monday was a pretty great day for me. I didn’t have a lot of homework so woo! I also did pretty well during my tennis match so that’s always a plus. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Until I was greeted by a pleasant surprise when I got home and logged onto Tumblr; I was expecting to see some really pretty pictures. Instead, my dash was filled with pictures of people freaking out about Miss America. Now, I’m not much of a fan of beauty pageants for a variety of reasons, but all this attention naturally sparked my curiosity and I needed to investigate why Miss America, unexpectedly, generated all this white noise.

Miss New York is the first Indian-American to win Miss America. Not only that, Nina Davuluri also has roots in my home state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

(And these, my friends, are reasons why I will never get a twitter.)

I bet anyone with half a brain could write an entire essay on the inaccuracies and stupidity behind those tweets so I won’t bother to. But, you are welcome to visit Youtube sensation Superwoman and Soundlyawake reactions to those tweets.

I want to focus on the positive aspects of an Indian-American winning. First, let’s talk about why this is so important for me, and a number of my friends, and, if I dare to say it, the entire South Asian population. Nina Davuluri’s win is not a milestone limited solely to her, but it opens doors for girls like me.

When people think India, they think Bollywood. They think Hindi, Bhangra, Aishwarya Rai. They don’t think about Tollywood or Kollywood, or the Christians of Karnataka, or the Indians with darker skin than their counterparts in the north. Why should they? In Western media, India means Punjab and Mumbai and New Delhi and the Taj Mahal. It doesn’t include my South Indian heritage. But with Nina’s win, and the rising popularity of the comedian, Hari Kondabolu, South Indians are becoming prominent as well. Which is important to me, because, just maybe in the future, I won’t have to explain that I come from Andhra Pradesh, that I don’t speak Hindi or do Bhangra, and that my cultural heritage is very different from the heritage of my North Indian friends.

Nina’s win just isn’t important to South Indians, but for all South Asians. Her wins initiates the breaking down of stereotypes. It marks a glimmer of hope for acceptance for South Asians in the public eye. We’re not just the people you go to get donuts or medical advice. We’re not just your call center workers and your outsourced employees. We are as beautiful as you are and as smart as you are. We are a part of your community, and your next door neighbor. We are America’s children, just as much as you are.

Miss America is a pageant that has only had possibly 5 other women of color as winners, with the first being Vanessa Williams in 1983, 60 years after the competition started. When a pageant so notorious for being white centric declares a woman of color as a winner, it’s a win for minorities throughout the U.S. It’s breaking down barriers and a symbol of progress.

The lack of positive support illustrates clearly that America is not a post-racial society. It is far from it. We cannot stand still and watch the beauty and culture of colored women be exploited by the white majority; show your support for Nina so young girls like me can recognize our individual beauty.