miss usa may have natural hair, but her mind has been processed :d

In response to her final question, a question about identifying as a feminist, McCullough responded that she thinks of herself more as an “equalist” (not a real thing). “I try not to consider myself this die-hard, ‘I don’t care about men’ (type),” said McCullough. “Women, we are just as equal as men when it comes to opportunity in the workplace.“ False. ”Firsthand, I’ve witnessed the impact women have in leadership in the medical sciences as well as in office environments.” So? What’s noteworthy about witnessing women in leadership if we truly had equal opportunities in the first place?

When asked, “Do you think affordable health care for all U.S. citizens is a right or a privilege and why?,” McCullough echoed the sentiments of House Republicans. “I’m definitely going to say it’s a privilege,” she said, grinning ear to ear. “As a government employee, I am granted health care. And I see firsthand that for one to have health care, you need to have jobs. So therefore, we need to continue to cultivate this environment that we’re given the opportunities to have health care as well as jobs to all the American citizens worldwide.”

This was the confusing response, that came out after McCullough probably spent months anticipating it in preparation for this event, is true, in a way, that, yes, healthcare in America is still a privilege and for some, having a certain kind of job is the only way to access it. But I doubt the question was about making an assessment of the current state of health care but was actually about whether or not people (jobless or otherwise) are entitled to health care by virtue of being a human being and living in this country.

So, it’s great that a black woman won a contest that normally honors white women, but it’s pretty shitty that this black woman reduces feminism to be about “hating men” (even though she works in the historically hostile towards women STEM industry), and that McCullough seems so disconnected from the marginalizing issues people who share identities with her, face. I hope she can get over her case of the Ben Carsons in time for Miss Universe.

By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor