Erin O’Flaherty, Miss Missouri, and better is the first lesbian contestant in the pageant’s history.
Advertisement
She is the first Miss America contestant to win a state title after coming out.
The 2017 Miss America will again take place at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, where its been held since its start in 1921.
Patricia Yurena has won Miss Spain twice and finished as a runner up once.
But, while her sexuality is “certainly a big part of who I am”, she added: “Also there will be many appearances that I do that have nothing to do with that”.
The preliminary rounds of Miss American 2017 run from September 6 to September 8, and the victor will be crowned September 11.
The preliminary was hosted by Miss new Jersey 1995 Dena Blizzard, her eighth year as the emcee.
The preliminary portion of the pageant begins Tuesday, and the finals will be televised live Sunday night on ABC.
“It is pretty unheard of to be a gay woman in the Miss America system”.
Bullying, suicide prevention, support for the military and helping children and the elderly figured prominently in the onstage interviews some of the contestants gave.
“It’s something special. I’m so excited to be leading the parade this year as your Miss America for the last time”.
He has done decades of behind-the-scenes work on pageants, including designing floats, and later riding on them in Miss America parades.
The Miss America pageant has been around for close to a century, but this year’s event is going to be a first for the organization.
Advertisement
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.
