Queen of the Clouds wrote:itsrowdy801 wrote:Queen of the Clouds wrote:itsrowdy801 wrote:I heard a rumor a while ago that roommates will be done alphabetically this year (so Alabama with Alaska, Arizona with Arkansas, and so on) with the contestant who sells the most ad pages for the program getting her own room as the odd 51st delegate, and based on the Teen roommates together in Houston rn, it looks like that's going to be the case.
I kinda think that's bullshit. A lot of girls already know each other, from competing together in the past or being from the same directorship, etc. and it's a shame they don't have the option to room with someone they know if they want to, and also not getting a roommate sounds like kind of a bummer and I'm not sure if it really counts as a "prize". I'm sure some girls would like to be by themselves, but part of the fun of going to Miss USA is getting a roommate and getting to bond.
That's dumb, but if I'm being honest I don't really mind all that much. Assigned roommates may help the girls get to know others that they wouldn't otherwise have gotten as close with. I know that for me personally, my university did not let freshmen choose their roommates, it was all random, and I ended up becoming best friends with my roommate. I wouldn't have ever befriended her otherwise if I could have chosen a roommate because I know there was a 0% chance we would ever have appealed to each other on paper (I was a party girl, she was quiet and artsy lol), so sometimes forcing people into situations they may not be as comfortable with can work out, especially since all the '21 girls are already sister queens. Plus I'm fairly sure Miss France assigns their roommates this way as well, and it works out fine. What I do worry though is with Nevada, as I don't want her to get stuck with someone who isn't going to treat her as an equal. Not to stereotype, but Nebraska isn't really the most LGBT positive state in the country, and I don't know what Erika's personal beliefs are and am absolutely not accusing her, but it would have been nice if she could be with someone like Utah who she already knows and seems to get along well with.
I don't remember which Teens roomed with who in Houston, but I did notice a lot of it was alphabetical. With that being said though, part of me feels like I noticed the alphabetical roommates but then I saw a couple pairs who weren't and thought "oh so I guess it isn't all alphabetical." Of course I don't remember who and can't find anything about who roomed with who (I just remember specifically that South Carolina and Rhode Island did, which was alphabetical) so oh well. I do agree though that being the sole girl without a roommate doesn't really seem like a prize and actually seems very alienating. At least it'd be incentive to not drive yourself insane trying to win this challenge lol. I would prefer if being the lone girl was picked through a lottery, with a random girl getting chosen and then being asked if she wanted it or not. If she says no, it moves on to the next person, and so on until the girl picked wants to be alone.
That's a really good point. Erika is a registered Republican, which doesn't necessarily mean she's transphobic (I've considered registering as a Republican so I could vote for the more palatable candidates in Utah primaries for state office because let's be real - a Republican is going to win them either way and I'd rather have Romney over a Trumper, and y'all know I'm far from a Republican) but I really want Kataluna to have a roommate who accepts her for who she is.
Yeah this is just a sensitive issue and trans people are obviously not fully accepted in the US, especially in rural and conservative states like Nebraska. I would have wanted Rachel last year to have an accepting roommate (and I'm sure she did) and the sad reality is that LGBT people in the US are not universally accepted. I think people at the Miss USA Organization should take that in mind when doing the roommate pairings because putting Kataluna in a room with someone who may be transphobic would honestly probably ruin the experience for both of them.
Again, not accusing Erika of being transphobic at all, she is a Republican but of course being a Republican doesn't automatically make you a MAGA bigot, especially when she lives in a state where Republicans dominate politics. But I think for Kataluna's sake it would have been much better to room with Utah, who already is friends with her, goes to pride parades, and we know is accepting. Adding an unknown in there could end badly.
So it looks like roomies are probably alphabetical (Kentucky & Louisiana and New Mexico & New York for sure), so that means Kataluna is with Erika. I probably don't see anyone being openly cruel to her at Miss USA, but I definitely am worried that some people might pass judgement and not fully accept her for who she is, and she deserves a roommate that is as accepting as possible.