gay marriage, bad. lingerie modeling, good.

I don’t keep up with beauty pageant news (Does anyone still watch these pageants?) so I’m late in coming to the story of Miss California’s comments about gay marriage.

At the Miss USA competition in late April Carrie Prejean was asked whether she believed in gay marriage. Though she didn’t win the competition, her answer to this question stole the show.

We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.

Let’s set aside the fact that, in our day, a beauty pageant contestant’s comments about gay marriage is deemed very newsworthy. I’m interested instead in the fact that Miss California made her comments as a Christian with strongly held moral convictions. This observation was pointed out by a new friend over lunch last week and it’s had me thinking ever since. Of her career Miss California has said, “I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos.” In other words, Prejean simultaneously feels comfortable opposing gay marriage and earning a livelihood from her barely covered body.

Is it appropriate for Christians to work as models or beauty pageant contestants? I have no idea. Again, what is most interesting about this story is that Prejean’s moral grid is applied to others (gay people who want to be married) while her own career as a model is viewed as morally neutral.

I don’t mean to pick on Miss California. Her understanding of Christian morality is likely representative of much of the American church. It is simply easier to sequester our judgement to particular issues while viewing our own actions as neutral. From my reading of Scripture, this type of moral cherry-picking is not an option for the follower of Jesus. We are to be people with a clear understanding of our own failures and little to say about the (perceived or actual) shortcomings of others. I suppose plenty of Christians live this way every day… it’s just not newsworthy.

David Swanson

May 12, 2009

culture, news

gay marriage, miss california

15 responses to “gay marriage, bad. lingerie modeling, good.”

randymolson

May 12, 2009 at 8:35 am

This non-news story has become news and it is everywhere. I agree with you that this moral cherry picking is not an option for those who call themselves followers of Christ. I have only one problem, Miss C. was asked to answer a question about homosexual marriage and she was required to answer it. She did and she was unprepared. Likely, if she had been asked how do you feel about causing men to lust by her modeling career, she would have been equally unprepared. Just how should she have answered?

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David

May 12, 2009 at 1:47 pm

Good point Randy. I was thinking about the same thing, wondering how I might respond to this sort of question in a very public setting. I think your point about her (possibly) being unprepared to answer a question about the Christ-likeness of her modeling career is interesting. Perhaps the issue is less about having the “right” answer to any one of a million possible questions and more about having a general sense of Christ’s lordship over all of life. I wonder if this might have allowed Miss California to respond to this question with a bit more nuanced humility. Or perhaps- like we all ought to do- she might be caused to ask new questions of her profession.

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Marcus

May 12, 2009 at 8:17 pm

Not that I think that Miss California should the final word on any issue, moral or otherwise, but I’m curious what you about the fact that she basically articulated the same position on gay marriage that President Obama has expressed. She gets lambasted while he’s lauded.

I agree with your point about the moral gymnastics that must be employed to oppose gay marriage while making a living as a lingerie and swimwear model.

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Anna

May 12, 2009 at 8:24 pm

Does having little to say about the shortcomings of others include not applying our Christian moral grid of not cherry picking to Miss California? (or me pointing this out?) Oh, the complexity of morality, theology, and pop culture. I thought her statement was pretty benign. She did at least qualify, in my family (ok, she also said in my country). But, opposing gay marriage is not exactly unusual or newsworthy in this country. Do we expect all beauty pageant contestants to be politically neutral? I think the whole thing is a little odd and I hope she’s enjoyed her extra time in the spotlight, even if it wasn’t for winning the contest. And, did anyone else read that Donald Trump owns the Miss USA franchise? That’s a little odd too.

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1. David
  
  May 13, 2009 at 5:39 am
  
  Ooh… I think my friend Anna is calling me out for cherry-picking. 🙂 And perhaps rightly so. My intention was not to call out Miss California as much as it was to ask about the tendency to label certain issues as “moral” (gay marriage) while ignoring other things (a career as a model) as neutral. Because Miss California has placed herself on the public stage, her words and actions become representative (to some, at least) of Christianity and thus seem fair game for critique. To be clear, it is what she said that can be critiqued and not who she is. Words and actions are the issue, not character.
  
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Nathan

May 12, 2009 at 9:07 pm

Inoculation? A perfect example….

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DAN

May 12, 2009 at 9:41 pm

I thought that she had made it clear that these were her veiws and that she wasn’t looking to hold people to her idea of marriage. What I find is distrubing is that we are no longer allowed to have our own personal veiws. I kind of like having the freedom to be wrong on somethings without fearing public retribution.
What other jobs are off limits to Christians? I wonder if a person can be a Christian and a politician. It seems that they tend to say one thing and then do another or tell two different groups two different things. Isn’t there some passage in the Bible that talks about letting your nay be a nay .
Perhaps she is a Christian in progress and will look back at her pageant days as a mistake . I know I make my share.
It also seemed like the person asking the question had a bit of an agenda. It kind of reminds me of the devil tempting Jesus trying his best to trick Him into saying something He will regret.

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1. David
  
  May 13, 2009 at 5:45 am
  
  Three thoughts Dan: First, what I’m interested in is the consistency of Miss California’s (and my!) personal views. So while it’s entirely appropriate for her to hold to a traditional view of marriage, it seems that moral questions could also be asked about her line of work. Second, your point about being a Christian in progress is well made and is a good reminder that I have plenty of inconsistencies in my life that may only become clear in hindsight. Finally, I agree that the person who asked the gay marriage question seemed to have an agenda. There is plenty that could be said about the question itself and whether it could even be answered adequately in the short time that Miss California had been given.
  
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2. otakudad
  
  May 13, 2009 at 1:08 pm
  
  Dan, while I tend to agree with what David said in reply, I would also wonder this (and this is not the gospel according to me, but I’m becoming more and more convinced that it’s simply the truth…but I may be wrong):
  
  Perhaps we’re NOT allowed to have our own opinions. That we have our own views, of course, because of our vantage points. But that what is right and what is God’s perspective…that’s what as Christians, we must kneel and accept as our own.
  
  This gets more on the topic I think of Lordship, rather than what a personality highlighted by the nightly news said…but I think it can answer a lot of those grey-area questions we seem to find ourselves examining in the church these days.
  
  Does it matter what I think, when God has an opinion on the subject? Really, does it? Or must I recognize that a vastly superior and vastly more just and loving and righteous intelligence has made up His mind on the subject before I was conceived? I think the latter makes more sense.
  
  And this isn’t to say that I’m countering something you said, Dan…but it simply made me think of this point in relation to this situation.
  
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Leslie

May 13, 2009 at 7:50 pm

i’d like to think that i get your original point in this entry, and i think it’s a good one!

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DAN

May 13, 2009 at 9:29 pm

Otakudad, If you asked me what God’s perspective was on gay marriage is I would have to say that I am unsure and wouldn’t feel worthy to speak on His behalf. I agree with you on God’s vastly greater intelligence. However if you asked me what My opinion is I think it is more honest and perhaps Christian to tell you what I actually think then to say what is PC or what I think you want to hear. Perhaps God will use the conversation to increase my understanding of what His perspective is.

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Keith

May 14, 2009 at 6:10 pm

I’ve been following this story…it’s kinda like watching a train wreck. Like David, I applaud her stance for man/woman marriage. Like David, I question her career, her modeling decisions, and her enhancement surgery prior to the Miss USA Pageant. It’s baffling, really. However, I have no business reading these articles and looking at these pictures of scantily clad women…but I did. I suggest to myself that it’s to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s happening in America. That’s moslty a lie. It’s an excuse to see a scantily clad woman. Shame on me and my inconsistencies.
I marveled at the head of Miss California (I think she was Carrie’s boss, sort of) resigning yesterday because she couldn’t stand the “lies” that Carrie Prejean was telling and would not work for an organization that supported her. These character flaws bother her so much that she listed lying and cheating as her “dislikes” when she posed for Playboy several years ago (no, I didn’t look at those pictures, I read it in one of the articles yesterday).
My point…we’re all extremely sinful and quick to point out another’s sins. I need to take the plank out of my eye before I point out the specs of wood in other people’s eyes. Or, he who has not sinned cast the first stone. We have a cultural perspective of sins. One is worse than another. In God’s eyes my lust (and gluttony and slothfulness and self-righteousness, etc.) are sins that are as sinful as Ms. Prejean’s “inconsistencies.”

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Otakudad

May 22, 2009 at 12:32 am

Dan, I think we’d disagree on the gay marriage thing. Mind you, if you’re speaking strictly for legality sake? Sure, I don’t think God cares much either way, in terms of insurance benefits and tax forms… but God’s clearly against the gay lifestyle. (clarity: against the lifestyle, not the people…he’s FOR all the people!)

Evidence for this: “Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.” (Genesis 19:4-7)

Lot condemned the act as wicked. God didn’t think much of the city either. 🙂

and of course, Leviticus 18:22 “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.”

Again, not gay-bashing. I have many friends (I went to theatre school) who are gay, who I love dearly. But sin is sin, regardless of who does it, whether they’re “good people” or not. So, in these cases, being against gay marriage (in terms of the lifestyle choice, again) is in line with God’s word.

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DAN

May 22, 2009 at 11:25 pm

Otakudad, Thanks for the comments. I can see how you would conclude that I am in favor of gay marriage. To be honest after reading my response I was kind of looking for an edit option after posting. Lets see if a can dig myself into a deeper hole.
Personally I am against gay marriage and couldn’t be part of a church that took a tolerant veiw towards it. I don’t know if that puts me in the group of seeing the sticks in others eyes and not the log in my own or what. I have to admit the hypocrisy in that given my own sins. Perhaps its not that we are to intolerant of the gay lifestyle but we are to tolerant of our own sins.
I think gay marriage within my lifetime is inevitable. I don’t think you can legislate morality. I would trade some form of school choice for gay marriage in a heartbeat. Then parents could have greater control over what values are being passed on to their kids.

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Alisha

June 2, 2009 at 8:19 pm

It was appaling how that judge, Mr. Hilton ranted and raved and verbally abused, Ms. California. ANd as Tyra Banks and other Christian Models have said, : If you are going to be a Professional model, you have to expect to remove your clothing. I hardly believe womans underwear modeling is sold as tilliating or porn. Ms. California has and had a right to model Professionally, to her Christian practice and to her opinion. The latter (OPINION) is why various staes have been voting on the matter of same sex marriage. The very reason she was Black Balled and Verbally abused by that man. IT was shameful.
By, the way… I am totally against same sex marriages. I had one friend from Somalia who rode to the United States and while on the boat with other refugees, had to eat rats to survive and could not marry an American Citizenship and love. Additionally, the number of Mexican Americans that are killed or even injured for crossing into United States Border illegally cannot marry an American Citizenship and love. I love my cat and dog and owuld like pet insurance, but I cannot marry them. Jethro is 27 years old and would like to marry his 9 year old neighnor but imaginary Jethro and The imaginary9 year old cannot. IT is all immoral and illeagal for all parties including Same Sex PARTIES in the name of love, insurance benefit, insurance benficiaires and sexual positionsing with the same sex.AT least the aforementioned non-citizens want to work, political freedom, are esacping aure deatha dn persuection in their countires not the freekeshly selfish same sex puke explosion.

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