The first openly gay contestant in the Miss America pageant was eliminated earlier Sunday night when the top 15 finalists were chosen.
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She was the first openly lesbian contestant to win a state title. It is a ritual in which the newly crowned Miss America skips along the beach as shallow waves roll in, jumps in the air, and poses for the first of the countless thousands of photos in which she will star over the next year.
In the end, it was Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields who emerged from a field of 52 contestants as the new Miss America. She performed the same jazz number on Sunday night that won her that competition. After the show, Shields told reporters that she believes the presidential candidates and political parties need to start compromising. Actress Grace Elizabeth Ward (who later changed her name to Elizabeth Gracen) of Cabot was crowned as Miss America in 1982, and Donna Axum of El Dorado won the pageant in 1964. She later said it seemed both candidates seemed to be yelling at each other and they needed to focus more on compromise. The 23-year-old was then asked a question each of the ladies had probably prepared for in some form or another – what she thinks of her own state’s most colourful character, Donald Trump.
She came out as a lesbian to her family when she was a teenager and says they have been supportive.
When she was crowned the first openly gay Miss Missouri in June, O’Flaherty told reporters: ‘I don’t know that I meant to be the first but I am, so I’m very excited about it’.
“Obviously ya gotta be pretty savvy to become Miss America”, he said, not able to resist the constant stream of puns being made in the wake of the Shields’ crowning. Numerous contestants noted the solemn anniversary, professed strong support for America’s armed forces and struck patriotic themes. Now in her senior year at Arkansas, Shields is also working towards a business minor.
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The pageant began in Atlantic City in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourist season beyond Labor Day weekend.
