Mrs. International is a beauty pageant based in Jacksonville, Fla., that celebrates the accomplishments of married women — but only those who are married to men, note the rules. Contestants must also pledge to defend marriage as something reserved solely for a man and a woman, according to some who were blindsided by the requirement at the July 23 pageant.
“I felt super-uncomfortable,” one contestant, who requested anonymity, tells Yahoo Beauty about the document that was presented to be signed by all Mrs. International participants at the pageant orientation. The contract said, among other things (such as confirming that there’s been no past history of posing nude and that there will be no gossiping), that should a participant win, she must agree to stand up against the idea of gay marriage.
“I’ve signed many different contracts for pageants, but have never heard of anything like this, defending a political position,” the contestant notes. “It’s just bizarre. Pageantry is usually very gay friendly. If the Supreme Court says it’s OK, then who am I? I don’t think I’d ever participate [in this pageant] again.”
It’s true that pageants have generally been evolving when it comes to LGBT stances — an openly gay woman will compete in the Miss America contest for the first time in history in September, and others have recently made history at state levels. And when Miss California 2009 Carrie Prejean famously noted, while competing at the Miss America pageant, that she believed marriage “should be between a man and a woman,” she was widely criticized; some even believed that her answer cost her the crown.
That would certainly not be the case at Mrs. International, where some participants’ discomfort with the required contract was exacerbated as they were apparently told about it while sitting and facing the pageant sponsors — including two companies owned by gay couples. “It was a very uncomfortable position to be in,” admits the competitor. She says she did go through with signing the pledge, however, as dropping out at that point — after having spent roughly $20,000 on training, travel, and hair and makeup just to get there — would have been a bitter disappointment.
Many others there faced the same dilemma, another source with knowledge of this pageant and the standard practices of other pageants tells Yahoo Beauty, also under the condition of anonymity.
“I am aware that contestants and state directors are complaining privately to each other and to trusted pageant friends,” she says. “What most of the contestants find particularly distressing is the fact that they were in a closed-door meeting with all the other contestants when they were asked to sign the document, and they had received no advance notice. So there they were — at the pageant, having spent all that time and money to get there — being told they had to sign the document right then in order to continue on.” Adds the source: “To my knowledge, this is the first time in pageant history that a pageant has required contestants to sign such a document.”
The directors of the International Pageants — which include the Mrs. as well as Miss and Miss Teen contests — are husband-and-wife team Mary and Melvin Richardson of Virginia. Mary replied to an email seeking comment from Yahoo Beauty, saying only that she was “out of the country.” But Suzanne Huddleston, who works at the organization, does confirm for Yahoo Beauty that participants signed the document regarding marriage. “Yes, they did,” she says. “It’s not new. And it’s not the only thing in there. It’s a two-page document.”
Contestants say they were not given a copy of the document to keep after they signed it. And while there is no copy of it on the pageant’s website, and no apparent mention of the stance against same-sex marriage, the online “rules and regulations” section states that each contestant “must be a naturally born female, married to a naturally born male.”
Other contestants did not respond to requests for comment. But Drew Dunn, co-owner with his husband Thomas of Thomas Dunn Studios, a Mrs. International sponsor, tells Yahoo Beauty that he is aware of the anti-gay-marriage contract but not bothered by it. “We are personal friends with [the directors] and go to their house for Christmas. We’ve never felt any discrimination, and what they choose to put in their contract is OK with me,” Dunn says. “What they exude as people speaks higher than what’s on a piece of paper. People have their own beliefs.”
Drew adds that he and Thomas are “very open” about their marriage at the pageant and are about to become new fathers. “Our friendship goes further than signing a contract,” he says of the Richardsons. Another gay-owned sponsor did not respond to Yahoo Beauty’s requests for comment.
Still, others with extensive pageant-world knowledge say the requirement is beyond the pale. “It’s weird — it’s really out there,” Shanna Moakler, executive director of Miss Nevada and a former Miss USA who was a vocal critic of Prejean in 2009, tells Yahoo Beauty. While pageant contracts do typically include a “morality clause,” she says, they usually address issues like pledging not be appear intoxicated in public.
“Pageantry is something I celebrate and support and … the role of these winners is to be an ambassador for everybody, whatever race, color or creed, and a role model,” says Moakler. “So to have contestants sign a document like that is kind of against everything pageantry, in my eyes, stands for.” Further, Moakler says, “pageantry isn’t just about holding a title, it’s also about helping women grow as people. I’d want the women to be who they really are as people. To force them to make such a polarizing statement takes away from their year — and puts them in a dangerous spot in the community.”
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