Admittedly as a detester of beauty pageants and what I think they stand for, I tuned in hoping to see something interesting - plus I adore Michael Urie. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I came to like some of these girls and be moved by their stories. I was surprised at how bad I felt for the lack of self-esteem these beautiful and accomplished women had. It was very enjoyable to see them become not so perfect/plastic and be comfortable with being themselves. I have more respect for women who enter these contests, but it did not change my mind about allowing my daughter to watch the Miss America Pageant. She is only 7 and while Miss America and all that she does during her reign can be a role model to young girls, the process of judging them is distasteful to me and obviously has harmed some of these women emotionally. I do hope that the contestants never watch this show and hear the nasty remarks made by the advisers - being catty for a sound bite is petty and cheapened what I thought this show was supposed to be about.
