Miss Georgia USA discusses bout with anorexia, Iraq

Kimberly Gittings is hoping that come April 19 in Las Vegas, she’ll be able to add her name to the list of kids from Lilburn who’ve done well (behind, most recently, fellow Parkview High grad Jeff Francoeur).

That’s when the Air Force brat, UGA student and Miss Georgia USA titleholder will compete for the Miss USA crown. We talked with Gittings about Iraq, her ancestral home of Korea and Michelle Obama’s arms.

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Courtesy of the Miss USA

Kimberly Gittings of Lilburn, who is half-Korean, will represent Georgia in the Miss USA Pageant, the American preliminary to Miss Universe.

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Q: No disrespect, but how does a girl who battled anorexia wind up in the pageant circuit? It seems like the pressure to perform and conform to a certain body type would actually exacerbate the disorder.

A: I suffered with anorexia when I was in middle school and high school. I’m 5 feet 10 inches and I weighed 97 pounds. So my parents were on the verge of hospitalizing me. I had heart palpitations, my liver was having issues, my hair was falling out, my nails kept breaking off, my period stopped. What I did to my body when I was younger will [negatively] affect my chances when I’m older if I ever want to conceive kids. But actually, pageants were something of a healing process. They allowed me to talk about what I was going through. [In pageants] you pick a platform that you’re passionate about and you talk about these issues across your state. For me, that’s what I picked. It gives me drive.

Q: Do you feel you’ve conquered it, or are there moments when you think, “I want to win and I need to be as thin as possible so I won’t eat today?” Do you still have it or another eating disorder?

A: I do not. I know how to live healthy now. I do not ever want to be back in that place again. It took a lot of time, money, effort and tears to get over it. Now I love to eat.

Q: Speaking of body image, what do you think of first lady Michelle Obama? Everybody keeps making hay over her bare arms and her level of fitness. I think one pundit referred to her arms as “thunder and lightning.”

A: Our first lady should be fit. I mean would you want her not? She’s an ambassador for the United States and there’s a reputation to keep up, and I think she’s doing an outstanding job.

Q: I feel like I’m on stage interviewing you at the pageant, you’re just so rehearsed.

A: I’ve got a double major in speech communications, so this is something I’m good at.

Q: You’re 20. You’re a sophomore at UGA. You’re a cadet in the ROTC program. So if we’re still in Iraq or Afghanistan once your reign as Miss Georgia USA or maybe Miss USA is over, would you want to deploy to one of those conflict areas?

A: Absolutely. My father is a retired Air Force veteran and he has been in Iraq for the past two years. He went back as an independent contractor with the United States Army. I come from four generations of Air Force and a military family. So for me, this is what is expected. I know what it means to sacrifice for your country.

Q: So what do you think of the president’s plan to refocus our efforts in Afghanistan?

A: It’s needed. If we leave, it’s almost as if we’re taking five steps back. The foundations there are not sturdy enough yet. Just like how we’re still in [South] Korea since the 1950s, I feel like our presence will always need to be [in Afghanistan and Iraq].

Q: So 10, 15, 20 years from now, we’ll still need a presence in that region?

A: Yes, ma’am. If we totally pull out, all the work and the lives lost would be a waste.

Q: OK. Pretend I’m a judge: Tell me how you’d use your reign as Miss USA.

A: What I’m trying to do is support women everywhere. No matter age, no matter color, no matter how tall you are, I feel that every single woman is beautiful inside and out and truly has something special to give. I know that sounds cliché. But I believe that.

Q: Do you have your pageant wave down?

A: Yes, I do.