Kára McCullough started her term as Miss USA off with a bang over the weekend. Before even being crowned, the 25-year-old found herself caught up in controversy with her comments on the idea of universal health care and her thoughts on feminism and whether or not she considers herself a feminist.
In case you missed it, here’s what she had to say about health care being a right or a privilege:
“I’m definitely going to say it’s a privilege. 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.”
And as for feminism:
“So as a woman scientist in the government, I’d like to lately transpose the word ‘feminism’ to ‘equalism.’ I don’t really want to consider myself — try not to consider myself like this die-hard, you know, like, ‘Oh, I don’t really care about men.’ But one thing I’m going to say, though, is women, we are just as equal as men when it comes to opportunity in the workplace.”
McCullough was given a platform once again, this time by Good Morning America, and she used it to clarify her comments from the Miss USA pageant while speaking with co-host Michael Strahan. Despite wanting to clear things up, McCullough said she wasn’t surprised by the criticism she received.
“Not at all. I believe that’s what America is based on, having opinions and views,” she said. “But I would like to take this moment to just truly clarify. I’m a woman, I’m going to own what I said. I am privileged to have health care and I do believe that it should be a right, and I hope and pray moving forward that health care is a right for all worldwide.”
“I am privileged to have health care,” she added. “I just want people to see where I was coming from. Having a job, I have to look at health care like it is a privilege.”
As for her comments on feminism, she tried to explain where she was coming from by swapping out “feminism” for “equalism.”
“So for me, where I work at with the nuclear regulatory commission, equalism is more of a term of understanding that no matter your gender you’re still just kind of given the same accolades on your work,” she said. “So I believe the person does a good job, they should be, you know, credited for that in a sense, but I don’t want anyone to look at as if I’m not about women’s rights. We deserve a lot when it comes to opportunity in the workplace as well as leadership positions and I’ve seen and witnessed firsthand the impact women have.”
She also spoke with Cosmopolitan.com about her statements and stated that yes, she is a feminist.
“Yes, I would have to say I am a feminist. But, when I look at the term ‘equalism’ [I used it] because I’ve seen firsthand in the workplace that we need those equal opportunities when it comes to leadership,” she said. “And you know, the word [feminism] can carry different connotations [depending on what] generation you come from, or what background, but I don’t want anyone to think I’m not an active [supporter of] women’s rights. If anyone wants to challenge me on that, please call me. There are multitudes of women working at the Nuclear Regulatory commission, for example, making so many strides in leadership. And I support them 100 percent. Go to my social media pages and you’ll see I give shout-outs to so many of my colleagues, because I look up to them. They really embody what a hard-working woman is, someone who doesn’t take no for an answer, who’s very unapologetic about her leadership and her abilities.”
Now that she’s well-aware of the impact her words can have, McCullough hopes to use the platform she’s been given to focus less on the social issues of adults, and more on the education of children, specifically STEM enrichment for the youth.
“I struggled with math as a child and I just found so much joy in science and I wanted to be able to understand it and that’s why I started my program, Science Exploration for Kids,” McCullough said on Good Morning America. “I want children to find joy in science at a young age and not look at it like it’s difficult. Moving forward I’m hoping to continue to visit schools, do science projects, maybe do symposiums with high school students and encourage them to look at career fields in science, technology, engineering and math. Open up the gates.”
Image via WENN
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