On March 24, a Saturday, I was outside one of the display buildings at the Easter Market in Sankt Wendel. I lay my purse on the ground while my husband took a picture of me and our dog. We then went to eat lunch. While in the restaurant, I realized my purse was "missing." I ran back to where I remembered I left it. No purse. I went inside the display building where Herr H. was working and asked about my purse. He stopped what he was doing and went with me to the building where my purse was. I want to thank the person who found my purse and turned it in. It’s nice to know someone was so honest. I am grateful.

I recently replied to an advertisement in the Herald Union that is a phishing scam. Upon replying to the ad for a chance to adopt an English bulldog puppy, the individual responded with a story about not being able to keep the dog and asking to send money to pay for transport. I did not send any money and immediately recognized the attempt; however I’d hate to see some young Soldier or civilian in our community deprived of his or her hard-earned money.

I emailed the person for more information and was told it would cost €200 to ship the dog to us. Was told a company would contact me and tell me where to send the money and where to pick up the dog. It seemed wrong to me because I couldn’t find the company online. I kept asking questions about the dog and did not receive any replies. I think this ad is a scam to obtain money from service members. I didn’t send any money to buy this puppy because it didn’t sound right to me.

Something in the editorial content of the last Herald Union caught my eye, something that was not right. It was a cursory mention of the Miss USA franchise winners making a visit to the Wiesbaden Commissary with an accompanying photo that captured two little girls in tiaras and sashes getting autographed pictures from the pageant winners. Why did the two little girls pictured in the Herald Union come all the way from Baumholder to meet these pageant winners? What was it that made me feel unsettled looking at this?

The Miss USA franchise is owned by Donald Trump. Unlike the Miss America pageant, which touts itself as "the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women," and winners receiving $50,000 in scholarships, the Miss USA pageants dispense with any pretense of empowering women for achievement in higher education. It doesn’t have a talent portion nor does it give out any substantive scholarships. The winner gets a one-year scholarship to the New York Film Academy, a one-year salary, living expenses and accommodations, as well as the stereotypical accoutrements of feminine materialism: shoes, clothes, hair, skin, and dental product and services, and professional "nutrition consultation."

The pageant solidly places itself as the sexier, racier, more objectifying and the more exploiting beauty pageant show. Its aim, for all intents and purposes, is to put on a successful show that consists of women presenting themselves in gowns and bikinis to be judged on their appearance and bodies. As Trump has said, "Whether we like it out not, beautiful women will always attract ratings."

Here in Wiesbaden were women who had made the patriarchal bargain. Lisa Wade at the sociological website, "The Society Pages," defines patriarchal bargain as, "a decision to accept gender rules that disadvantage women in exchange for whatever power one can wrest from the system. It is an individual strategy designed to manipulate the system to one’s best advantage, but one that leaves the system itself intact." This explains why Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian are so famous. With no discernible skill other than being patriarchy’s perfect women, they got a pretty good deal out of making this bargain — a deal that has brought them many millions of dollars. And can you blame them? Only a fool would not take advantage of the system when they have the right bargaining chips.

To see the absurdity of pageants and the reality of the patriarchal bargain these women make, just imagine the opposite — a matriarchal society that heaps rewards on men who are pleasing sexual objects to women. Of course there would be pageants where men parade in Speedos, trying to trade their sex appeal for greater fame and earning power. Sounds ridiculous, right?

Yet, this is the reality of life for women living in a patriarchal culture such as ours. What made me feel unsettled at seeing that picture in the Herald Union was the subtle way in which, by simply reporting that the visit happened, by not challenging or questioning it, the newspaper is in tacit support of this system.