Pageant News Bureau - Kristin Gauvin

"Are you sure she's not a USA girl?" one PNB staffer asked another as they looked over photographs.

They both knew Kristin Gauvin was a competitor in the Miss America system, not in the Miss USA system. But the question was almost instinctive. She just seemed like the Miss USA type.

It was a compliment, not a slam. Ms. Gauvin is a beautiful woman and looks great in a bikini. She's an NFL cheerleader. And she's from Massachusetts, which in the past few years has become a powerhouse in the Miss USA Pageant. But she wants to be Miss America.

Pageant insiders often complain that average people don't know the difference between Miss America, which is a scholarship competition, and Miss USA, which is a beauty competition. That's true enough. But sometimes pageant insiders take the difference a little too seriously, and they lump women into rigid categories. "America girls" supposedly are smart, hard-working, attractive but not really stunning. "USA girls" supposedly are sexy, outgoing, beautiful enough to make it in show business but not good for much else.

Cheerleading photos courtesy of Tracey Sormanti; modeling photos courtesy of Kristin Gauvin; pageant photos courtesy of the Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Organization

Ms. Gauvin puts the lie to all those half-baked suppositions. She's beautiful, brainy and talented. She was a swimsuit winner and an academic achievement winner at Miss Massachusetts 2003. She teaches tap dancing and plans to open a dance academy, and millions of TV viewers can attest to her skills on the New England Patriots cheerleading squad.

The best way to break down stereotypes is to ignore them, and that's what Ms. Gauvin does.

She has nothing against the Miss USA system, and she's proud to see the Miss USA crown on the head of a Bay State women. But "you have to choose," and Ms. Gauvin chooses to be Miss America. First, of course, she needs to win a state title, and she has her sights on Miss Massachusetts 2004.

Let's forget that other system for a moment and talk about Miss America. It's a scholarship pageant, not a beauty pageant. But there's no penalty for being beautiful. If there were, it would be very unfair. And it would be a disaster for Kristin Gauvin.

A mind of her own