Eduardo Verdugo, Associated Press Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007, falls during the evening gown competition of the Miss Universe 2007 pageant in Mexico City.

By LaMont Jones
Post-Gazette Fashion Editor There might have been a riot in Mexico City on Monday night had Miss USA Rachel Smith been crowned Miss Universe 2007.

Things got interesting when Miss Smith fell flat on her derriere during the evening gown competition for the top 10. In a global competition where poise is second only to pretty -- and third to politics, it seems -- the tumble should have knocked her out of the finals.

	Eduardo Verdugo/Associated Press Riyo Mori, Miss Japan 2007, won the Miss Universe pageant Monday night in Mexico City. Click photo for larger image.

Maybe for any other contestant, but not Miss America. When Miss Smith advanced to the final five, audience disapproval was audible. It was nothing, however, compared to the loud chorus of boos and catcalls that greeted her when emcees called her forward during the question-answer segment.

Audible disdain for a contestant is rare at major pageants, about as uncommon as the sort of spill Miss Smith took as one billion TV viewers watched. The norm is enthusiastic applause for contestants you favor and polite applause or silence for those you don't.

Much to her credit, Miss Smith, a stunning Tennessee beauty by way of Panama, handled the fall well. She quickly got up, regained her poise and kept a smile on her face the rest of the evening. The gratitude on her face for the grace judges gave her in allowing her to make the finals was visible, and she even looked as if she understood when she later was awarded fifth place.

Some speculate that Miss Smith may have been booed because she didn't speak in Spanish. When she greeted the audience in the language of the host country, there was some applause and cheers.

But it's also possible that those expressing their disapproval weren't targeting Miss Smith personally. They may have been reacting to what seems to be inherent bias in favor of Miss USA contestants.

In a field of more than 70 beautiful, talented and smart women from around the globe, is Miss USA always so much better that she must advance to the final round? Is it an unfair advantage that the judges are disproportionately U.S. citizens, or that an American, Donald Trump, owns the pageant?

That aside, the competition may have signaled a wider-embracing definition of beauty. Two of the top 10 were from African nations, which was unusual. They were Miss Angola and Miss Tanzania, the latter a dark-skinned woman with a head shaved nearly bald -- something you just don't see in the final rounds of Miss Universe.

There also was the rarity of two contestants from Asian countries in the top five, Miss Korea and the eventual winner, Miss Japan Riyo Mori. Miss Philippines won Most Photogenic and Miss China won Miss Congeniality, making the top categories a sweep by Asian contestants.

More than any other major pageant, Miss USA is about physical appearance and, over time, has become even more so.

It's not necessarily exploitation or objectification when contestants prance across this stage in high heels and bikinis. But the accompanying video footage of them frolicking and crawling around in the animal-print swimsuits during a "photo shoot" was borderline soft porn.

In fact, if you go to missuniverse.org and click on the "Top 15," "Top 10" and "Top 5" links, contestants pop up in photos that look like promo shots for an adult late-night pay-channel movie.

But the reality is, people don't tune in to Miss Universe, Miss USA or any other pageant to look at contestants' brains. Although pageant contestants tend to be accomplished and excel academically -- Miss Smith is a magna cum laude graduate of Belmont University -- organizers understand that it's the skin show that attracts viewers and will keep them coming back the next time.