Meet the new Miss USA 2012
By Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY
Updated 1h 13m ago
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2012/06/meet-the-new-miss-usa-2012-/1Olivia Culpo, Rhode Island, fielded a question from a Twitter. Rob Kardashian read it: Would it be fair if a transgender woman won the Miss USA title? "I do think it would be fair ..." she said, recognizing that some people "might be apprehensive" because of tradition. But, she added she would be in favor of it because "there are so many people who have a need to change for a happier life. I do accept that because I believe it's a free country." The crowd erupted with cheers.
------
20-year-old Rhode Island cellist wins Miss USA
By CRISTINA SILVA, Associated Press – 8 hours ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j0lGHWmZfDvbmaoAK-S7JrM_lmpg?docId=6f72e4f4a55a4d628fa3ceaa337c540eLAS VEGAS (AP) — A 20-year-old cellist from Rhode Island won the Miss USA crown and will represent the United States in this year's Miss Universe pageant after voicing support for transgender beauty queens.
[...]
In the dreaded interview round, Culpo was faced with the most difficult question of the night: "Would you feel it would be fair that a transgender woman wins the Miss USA title over a natural-born woman?" Culpo never stumbled as she embraced the Miss Universe Organization's recent decision to admit transgender contestants. The question came from a pageant follower on Twitter, a first for the competition.
"I do think that that would be fair, but I can understand that people would be a little apprehensive to take that road because there is a tradition of natural-born women, but today where there are so many surgeries and so many people out there who have a need to change for a happier life, I do accept that because I believe it's a free country," Culpo said.
