Miss America welcomes its first ever openly gay contestant

LGBT people have competed in secret, worked behind the scenes and even created their own alternative beauty pageants over the years. But now, for the first time, an openly gay woman is competing in the world-famous Miss America beauty pageant.

Erion O’Flaherty, also known as Miss Missouri, is set to compete for the Miss America crown this weekend – and is making no secret of her sexual identity while doing so.

“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 . “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.”

Erin, 23, will have to face off 51 competitors to snatch the title. But even making it as far as the Miss America stage is a historical moment in itself.

According to the Daily Mail, a number of openly gay women have taken part in state-level pageants, but have never made it through to the national finals. Janelle Hutcherson and Mollie Thomas competed openly for the title of Miss California USA, but didn’t make it to the national finals, while Djuan Trent made it to the top 10 of Miss America in 2011, but didn’t come up until three years after the competition.

Josh Randle, chief operating officer of the Miss America Organization, welcomed the milestone, saying: ‘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.

“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.”

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