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“Miss America is more than a competition–it’s the nation’s most iconic platform for women to rise, lead, and inspire. For over a century, Miss America has been celebrated as America’s It Girl–the symbol of style, service, scholarship, success, and sisterhood.”
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These lofty words are written on the homepage for the Miss America pageant. But are they really true?
It’s the year 2026, and Miss America isn’t what it used to be, along with pageants in general. While Miss America claims to be a pageant that allows women to rise, lead, and inspire, the truth is that they are more concerned with political correctness and, quite frankly, biological fantasies than with women and the “sisterhood.”
When Pageants Go Woke
Contestant Kayleigh Bush knows all too well what happens when pageants decide to forsake reality for wokeness. In 2024, she won the title of Miss North Florida, only to be stripped of her crown. The reason? She refused to sign a contract that defied biological truth. Specifically, it stipulated that she agree with the lie that a “female” includes “any male who had completed sex reassignment surgery via vaginoplasty before competing.”
Kayleigh makes it crystal clear when she says, “I didn’t lose my crown because I broke a rule. I lost the crown because I was unwilling to rewrite the TRUTH.” She further clarifies that the Miss America pageant asked her to sign a contract four weeks after she won the crown, but this one was different from the original she had agreed to.
The Devil is in the Details
Liberty Counsel, a national nonprofit litigation, education, and public policy organization with an emphasis on First Amendment liberties, is representing Kayleigh. It stated that “Ultimately, the contract requires female beauty candidates to agree to compete against biological males – who have been subjected to medical mutilation as minor boys – and agree that these mutilated males are ‘female.’”
Section 2.3.5.1 of the contract reads, “Sex. The Applicant must be a Female. ‘Female’ means a born female or an individual who has fully completed Sex Reassignment Surgery via Vaginoplasty (from male to female) with supporting medical documentation and records. … No alternative gender affirming surgery will suffice as acceptable in place of a Vaginoplasty.”
Exhibit E of the contract states that “the surgery has left the individual with no male genitalia and is irreversible.” This must be verified by the biological male’s surgeon, who must also certify that “The purpose of the surgery was for gender transition from birth gender, male, to new gender, female, and the surgery was successful in that regard.”
What’s even more disturbing is that the contract applies to competitors as young as 14 years old (if competing in the teen competition). Consequently, if a male entered the pageant at this age, this means that the surgical mutilation would have to take place before he turned 14. In fact, Liberty Counsel reports that “other portions of the contract state that the surgery must be done by age 14.”
Kayleigh and her mother were distraught about the contract. They tried to reason with pageant officials, hoping the wording could be amended. “We got on a conference call immediately with one of the directors for the Miss America organization. And weeks and weeks and weeks of pleading with them, sending videos, sending letters, emails, demand letters through Liberty Counsel because they picked up my case, and they just said ‘no, no, no,’ and they doubled down.”
Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the Miss Florida Scholarship Program, as well as the Miss America Organization, requesting that they “reconsider the contract language and restore Bush’s title so she could move forward in the Florida competition, scheduled for June 25-28, 2025.” The letter explained that Bush objected to Miss America’s definition of a woman based on her “religious, scientific, and moral beliefs that sex is immutable” and that “individuals are born and remain either male or female.” Consequently, the contract’s false definition of female “incentivizes and promotes grievous harm to the health and safety of minor boys.”
Liberty Counsel released a press statement that laid out the facts. “We commend Kayleigh Bush for taking a stand and refusing to sign the Miss America Organization’s contract that is infused with false gender ideology. A contract that defines ‘female’ to include boys 14-18 who have been medically castrated is an abandonment of reality and an endorsement of harming children. Kayleigh Bush should have her crown restored, and these types of reprehensible contracts must be stopped.”
Florida law prohibits doctors from performing “medical mutilation” (sex change operations) on children who are under the age of 18. At least 27 states have enacted laws/policies that limit access to “gender affirming care” for minors. Yet the Miss America pageant rules stipulate that these surgeries must happen if a man or boy wants to compete as a “woman.”
Kayleigh contends, “I couldn’t agree that a little boy could mutilate his body and become a woman,” adding that Miss America has abandoned a common-sense truth that a man is a man and a woman is a woman.
Both the Miss Florida and Miss America organizations refused Liberty Counsel’s requests to revise the contract, so Kayleigh felt she had no other recourse–she had to walk away from her title as Miss North Florida, forgoing any chances of competing at the next level.
The Miss America pageant insists that its contract is about “fairness to all contestants and adherence to nondiscrimination principles,” asserting that it doesn’t force “personal beliefs” on contestants. This, however, is doublespeak because the truth is that Kayleigh would have to go along with the fantasy that men can become women. Men (and in some cases, boys) who have mutilated their bodies would be able to compete against real women on the same stage.
An article in the Daily Citizen, a faith-based news publication and a division of Focus on the Family, notes, “The language indicates Miss America equates a man who undergoes surgery to obtain a cosmetic approximation of female genitalia with an actual woman. In essence, the Miss America organization feels comfortable reducing their distinguished female competitors, not even to their reproductive capabilities, but to the general appearance of their genitalia.”
A Modern-Day Esther
In October 2025, Kayleigh was crowned Miss She Leads America and recognized as a Young Christian Woman of Distinction, with her stand entered into the Congressional Record as a modern-day Esther.
Michigan Representative Lisa McClain praised Kayleigh’s actions by saying, “Kayleigh represents a modern-day Esther: one who is willing to speak when the culture demands silence. Her story reminds us that courage is contagious, truth is not negotiable, and that no earthly crown compares to the one given by Christ.”
Kayleigh’s fight is not over, however, because the Miss America organization is threatening to sue her for exposing the truth. Liberty Counsel will be defending her legally, but God will be her right hand, upholding and protecting her.
Miss America Missed the Point
On President’s Day 2026, Miss America unveiled a new sash adorned with red, white, and blue stitching. The organization boasts that it exemplifies “bold patriotism,” and honors “the generations who secured our freedoms and the young women who wear them.” But Miss America has lost the entire point of what it means to be an American woman. Right in front of their eyes, a bold patriot named Kayleigh Bush has honored women and America by standing up for the truth–a truth they refuse to acknowledge.
In the end, Kayleigh doesn’t need the praise of people or earthly judges who hand out trophies, crowns, and prizes. She only needs the applause and approval of her God and King, Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 declares, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing…
Kayleigh’s race is the one set before her by God, not man, and the crown she will receive is eternal.
1 Peter 5:4 reminds believers that when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Intercessors, let’s keep Kayleigh Bush in our daily prayers, as well as the Miss America pageant. It’s important that young women stand up for what is true and honorable. Kayleigh has stated that God uses all things for good, and she is absolutely correct. Let’s pray that God uses her, and many others, to tell the world that God’s truth is the only thing that matters. One day, all those who love Jesus will lay their crowns at His feet.
Lord Jesus, we thank you for the courage of Kayleigh Bush. We lift her up to You and ask for Your blessing and protection over her life. We pray that the officials of the Miss America pageant would come to their senses and repent for their affirmation of the medical mutilation of young boys and men. We pray that more women would refuse to go along with the lies and even lay down their crowns for the truth.
It’s encouraging when young people like Kayleigh Bush take a bold stand against lies and wokeness. Post your prayers for Kayleigh below.
Angela Rodriguez is an author, blogger, and former teacher who studies the signs of the times, as well as the historical and biblical connections between Israel and the United States. You can visit her blogs at 67owls.com and 100trumpets.com. She is also the author of Psalm 91: Under the Wings of Jesus and Hallelujah’s Great Ride. Photo Credit: Screenshot/Liberty Counsel via Rumble.
