History in the making: Miss America's first ever openly lesbian contestant shares her excitement as she gets set to compete for the coveted pageant crown this weekend

  • Erin O'Flaherty is to become the pageant's first openly lesbian contestant at the pageant, launched 95 years ago, on September 11
  • The 23-year-old from Missouri said she is 'very excited' about making history
  • The boutique owner will face competition from 51 others - a representative for each of the other states, plus Puerto Rico and District of Columbia 
  • Josh Randle, of the Miss America Organization, said the landmark moment shows how the pageant reflects an evolving America 

Miss Missouri is to become Miss America's first ever openly lesbian contestant. 

Erin O'Flaherty, 23, will make history when she competes for the Miss America crown in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 11.

She will face competition from 51 others - including one representative for each of the 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia - in the pageant which was founded 95 years ago.

Landmark moment: Erin O'Flaherty, 23, pictured at the arrival ceremonies last week, is to become Miss America's first openly lesbian contestant at the pageant on September 11

Landmark moment: Erin O'Flaherty, 23, pictured at the arrival ceremonies last week, is to become Miss America's first openly lesbian contestant at the pageant on September 11

Miss Missouri: The boutique owner  will face competition from 51 others - one representative for each of the other states, plus Puerto Rico and District of Columbia

Miss Missouri: The boutique owner will face competition from 51 others - one representative for each of the other states, plus Puerto Rico and District of Columbia

Suspense: Erin, pictured far left in a golf cart on Sunday in Linwood, New Jersey, with Miss Oregon, Alexis Mather, and Miss North Carolina, Mckenzie Faggart, said she is 'very excited'

Suspense: Erin, pictured in a golf cart on Sunday in Linwood, New Jersey, with Miss Oregan, Alexis Mather, and Miss North Carolina, Mckenzie Faggart, said she is 'very excited'

'Behind the scenes, we've been well-represented, but I'm the first openly gay title holder, so I'm very excited,' Erin, who owns a boutique, told The Associated Press.

'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.' 

She is the first Miss America contestant to win a state title after coming out.

Lesbian competitor Djuan Trent took part in the Miss America pageant as Miss Kentucky in 2011, during which time she finished in the top ten, but she did not come out until three years later.

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.

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. 

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.'

Changing attitudes: Josh Randle, of the Miss America Organization, said the landmark moment shows how the pageant reflects an evolving America
Changing attitudes: Josh Randle, of the Miss America Organization, said the landmark moment shows how the pageant reflects an evolving America

Changing attitudes: Josh Randle, of the Miss America Organization, said the landmark moment shows how the pageant reflects an evolving America

Representative: Erin, pictured signing her name in Missouri on the pageant's official map, said she knew going into the competition that she 'had the opportunity to make history'

Representative: Erin, pictured signing her name in Missouri on the pageant's official map, said she knew going into the competition that she 'had the opportunity to make history'

The Riverfront Times reports that Erin, who is originally from South Carolina, moved to Missouri three years ago and came out when she was 18.

It said that Erin supports suicide prevention charities after she lost a close friend to suicide aged 13.

Erin was crowned Miss University of Central Florida soon after coming out.

'I don’t carry a rainbow flag with me everywhere I go, you know,' she told The Riverfront Times in June. 

'It’s not going to be my focus, but I certainly hope my presence will help people open up a little bit more. 

'I’m very open about it. It’s never going to be something I try to hide because I’m very proud to be a member of the LGBT community.'

Rich Helfant, executive director of the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance, said he will be watching the Miss America pageant finals with added interest this year.

He helps run the Miss'd America pageant, a drag spoof of the Miss America pageant that has become popular in Atlantic City, and which 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,' he said. 

Spokesperson: Erin, pictured, said she wants to use her platform to meet people in the gay community
Spokesperson: Erin, pictured, said she wants to use her platform to meet people in the gay community

Spokesperson: Erin, pictured, said she wants to use her platform to meet people in the gay community

Highlight: Rich Helfant, of the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance, said he will be watching the Miss America pageant finals with added interest this year as a result of Erin, pictured
Highlight: Rich Helfant, of the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance, said he will be watching the Miss America pageant finals with added interest this year as a result of Erin, pictured

Rich Helfant, of the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance, said he will be watching the Miss America pageant finals with added interest this year as a result of Erin, 

Robert Hitchen, from Philadelphia, regularly appears in the Miss'd America pageant under the stage name Sandy Beach.

He has done decades of behind-the-scenes work on pageants, including designing floats, and later riding on them in Miss America parades.

He said 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.

'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 said. 

'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 glamour!" It's very alluring.   

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