This Year's Miss USA Finalists Actually Gave Conservative Answers, Seemed to Back Away from the 'Feminist' Label

Social media erupted in excitement over the crowning of a new Miss USA on Sunday.



Miss District of Columbia Kara McCullough, 25, dazzled her way to the top — a black woman with killer natural curls who’s a nuclear scientist, an advocate for science education and the very definition of #BlackGirlMagic. But while some praised the pageant for its progressive decision, others dragged McCullough for her responses during the Q&A segment, in particular, her thoughts on feminism and health care.



When asked “What do you consider feminism to be and do you consider yourself a feminist?” McCullough replied, “As a woman scientist in the government, I’d like to transpose the word feminism to equalism. I try not to consider myself this diehard, like, I don’t really care about men.”



Granted the pressure of answering a question live in front of millions of viewers may result in a less-than-perfect composed answer, many were upset that McCullough seemed to perpetuate the stereotype of feminists being anti-men.



On top of that, McCullough also stated that she sees health care as a “privilege” instead of a right.



“I’m definitely going to say it’s a privilege. As a government employee, I’m 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 so that we’re given the opportunities to have health care as well as jobs for all Americans worldwide,” she said.