Missouri produces first ever..........openly Gay Miss America contestant

[scho63]

Does she get an extra 5 points if she scissors her girlfriend during the talent contest?

NOT hot.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/she-close...043629792.html

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — After competing in pageants for generations in the closet or working behind the scenes, gays and lesbians finally get to see one of their own take one of pageantry's biggest stages.

Miss Missouri, Erin O' Flaherty, will compete for the Miss America crown this weekend as the first openly lesbian contestant.

"Behind the scenes, we've been well-represented, but I'm the first openly gay title holder, so I'm very excited," she told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "I knew going in that I had the opportunity to make history. Now I get to be more visible to the community and meet more people."

Rich Helfant, executive director of the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance, helps run the Miss'd America pageant, a drag spoof of the Miss America pageant that has become popular in Atlantic City as an entertainment and fundraising event. He said he'll watch the Miss America pageant finals Sept. 11 with extra interest this year.

Miss'd America took its name from the fact that many gay pageant workers toiled behind the scenes during Miss America and never got to see what was happening onstage.

"They literally missed Miss America," Helfant said.

Robert Hitchen of Philadelphia appears regularly in the Miss'd America pageant under the stage name Sandy Beach and recalled decades of behind-the-scenes work on pageants, including designing floats, and later riding on them in Miss America parades.

The "Show Us Your Shoes" parade that has become a fixture of Miss America, in which contestants ride in vehicles on the Boardwalk and show off their state-themed footwear, sprang from the interest of gay spectators, he said.

"We would watch the parade from the deck of a hotel and we'd look down into the cars and see some of the women wearing slippers or being barefoot, and we started calling out, 'Show us your shoes!'" he recalled. "We sort of embarrassed them into wearing these big elaborate shoes, which are the highlight of the parade now."

Antwan Lee, who won the Miss Gay America 2016 pageant under the stage name Asia O'Hara, would excitedly watch Miss America every year as a child and a young man, imagining what it would be like onstage.

"I would always gravitate toward celebrities and singers and actresses that had a high level of glam: beautiful, poised people who would live their life with a high degree of dignity," he said. "To see that on TV with 50 women, as a young gay boy, that's the first place you see such a concentration of that. I was like, 'Wow, look at all those beautiful women, all the class, all the glamor!' It's very alluring."

Lesbians have been more visible in pageants lately. Djuan Trent competed in the Miss America pageant as Miss Kentucky in 2011, when she finished in the top 10. She came out as a lesbian in 2014.

Patricia Yurena, two-time winner of the Miss Spain contest and a runner up in the 2013 Miss Universe competition, announced in 2014 that she is a lesbian, posting a photo of her and her girlfriend cuddling, titling it "Romeo and Juliet."

In 2012, two openly lesbian contestants, Jenelle Hutcherson and Mollie Thomas, competed in the Miss California USA pageant but did not advance to the national Miss USA pageant competition.

O'Flaherty is the first Miss America contestant to win a state title after coming out; Trent came out after competing.

Hitchen said the social activism of many Miss America contestants resonates with the gay community; the Miss'd America drag queen parody pageant raises $300,000 a year for local and national charities and has become the top social event of the year in Atlantic City's gay community.

Josh Randle, chief operating officer of the Miss America Organization, said the pageant reflects an evolving America.

"Through every major milestone of our nation's evolution, Miss America has provided a voice for women from all walks of life, and, this year, we welcome our first openly gay contestant," he said. "Miss America contestants continue to be the best and brightest in the country, and we proudly support each and every young woman who competes in our national program."

[gblowfish]

Originally Posted by BigRichard

Why do people with a great body automatically get put in the she is beautiful column? She does have a great body but god damn her face is ugly.

She's got a big beak, but hey, this is what passes for beauty in St. Louis... Here's a pic that's a bit more flattering, but as we used to say in the advertising dept, "You can't polish a turd..."

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

We'll see how lesbian she is after watching me throw this football.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by alpha_omega

Ghey....meh.

I'm more disappointed that Ms. MO isn't hotter.

This. That's the best an entire state could do?

[gblowfish]

We've done better. Check out Channel 4 in KC. News chick Abby Eden is a former Miss Missouri. She's very cute.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by vailpass

This. That's the best an entire state could do?

Best lesbian the entire state could do at least

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

We've done better. Check out Channel 4 in KC. News chick Abby Eden is a former Miss Missouri. She's very cute.

Much better.

[Lzen]

Missouri is quickly becoming the gay state, what with Michael Sam and now this.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Missouri is quickly becoming the gay state, what with Michael Sam and now this.

Gay doesn't count when it's a woman. For them it's natural and it's okay.
All women are bi, some just don't know it.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by BigRichard

Why do people with a great body automatically get put in the she is beautiful column? She does have a great body but god damn her face is ugly.

Well, you can have them face the other direction.

I've come to the conclusion, though, that facial beauty is the cruel differentiator of beauty. Most people can give themselves a nice body if they try hard enough, but facial features are pretty much an unalterable dice roll of genetics.

[Kiimo]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

She's got a big beak, but hey, this is what passes for beauty in St. Louis... Here's a pic that's a bit more flattering, but as we used to say in the advertising dept, "You can't polish a turd..."

I remember when Miss America was about being hot.

Then we had to get all "talent portion" about it.

Cheerleaders fall into this as well.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Kiimosabi

I remember when Miss America was about being hot.

Then we had to get all "talent portion" about it.

Cheerleaders fall into this as well.

Don't forget the personality questions. Personality is important.

[Rain Man]

The more I think about it, these contests are weird. In the old days, they were about beauty. That was it. Come out on stage, prance around in a swimsuit, and the judges will look at your legs and your face and all the curvy stuff jiggling around inside the suit, and they'll pick the prettiest contestant. That's it. They point at one and say, "You're hot, baby. You're the prettiest one here. Come and get your crown."

But now what are they really judging on? It's undeniable that beauty plays a role, but they're also assessing talent and personality and, ostensibly, "scholarship". So what is the winner? Is she really entering a "best overall human being" contest? That seems kind of weird. And it's not like they're giving her an IQ test and quizzing her on ethics and history and civics.

So what is Miss America these days? It's almost like she's winning a "most desirable hostess" award or something?

[Rooster]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Don't forget the personality questions. Personality is important.

"Poise counts!" - Kramer

[Nickhead]

[Hydrae]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

FIRE IN THA HOLE!

That's a scary thought!