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Miss Long Beach and Miss Southern California cities pageant contestant Jenelle Hutcherson was the first openly lesbian participant in the pageant’s history, and she may not have won the title Sunday but she sure broke down boundaries just by her presence.
"But history has been made," Hutcherson wrote on her Facebook fan page, according to the LA Times. "Doors have been opened and memories made!!"
Hutcherson, a 25-year-old hair artist who hails from Bakersfield, Calif. but moved to Long Beach three years ago, ultimately lost to Kristin Bopp who won the Miss Long Beach title and to Megan O’Connell-Barbre, who nabbed the Miss Southern California cities title. She said the other contestants treated her well.
Still, Hutcherson shook up the pageant with a few non-traditional outfits. In addition to her atypical pageant look that included a Mohawk, tats and piercings, rather than sporting a bikini or one-piece for the swimsuit competition, Hutcherson donned a pair of red and white striped boy shorts and a black and white striped tank top. And for the eveningwear portion of the event Hutcherson graced the stage sporting a black tuxedo with a purple dress shirt.
Pageant director Justin Rudd encouraged Hutcherson to enter the contest as she was giving him a hair cut. He emphasized embracing her individuality as a reason to join the pageant.
Hutcherson said she hoped her participation in the pageant would spread a message of equality, diversity and creativity as well as unite Long Beach's large gay community.
She may have lost the Long Beach / Miss Southern California cities contest but Hutcherson has her eyes on the big prize – Donald Trump’s Miss California USA pageant, and she is seeking financial support from sponsorships and donations in order to run.
"The journey is not over," she wrote Sunday. "The world is your oyster. It's what you do with what you have that makes you shine."
This was Jenelle's video annoucement that she'd be entering the pageant.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
