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Meet Erin O'Flaherty, Miss America's Fabulous First Openly Gay Contestant
She's breaking ground in the pageant world.
This is Erin O'Flaherty.
\u201cMeet your new #MissMissouri, Erin O'Flaherty! \u2728 She will spend this year promoting her platform #SuicidePrevention\u201d— Miss Missouri (@Miss Missouri) 1466363037
She's 23 years old, and was just crowned Miss Missouri 2016.
\u201cHey there! Erin here, officially signing in as Miss MO 2016. So excited to serve this amazing state \ud83d\udc95\u201d— Miss Missouri (@Miss Missouri) 1466653783
She'll be taking part in this year's Miss America pageant, where she'll be making history as the first openly gay woman to compete in the pageant's history.
\u201cWelcome to the #MissMissouri sisterhood Erin O'Flaherty! She will be taking over this account! \ud83d\udc96 #ThereSheIs\u201d— Miss Missouri (@Miss Missouri) 1466363195
The news of Erin competing in Miss America is AWESOME, because by simply being her authentic self, she's increasing visibility of queer women in a industry/event that does not often feature them. And she's proud to be a representation for the many queer people who look up to her.
\u201cThank you to the @Mizzou @CMNHospitals for having me at your celebrity golf tournament! #FTK\u201d— Miss Missouri (@Miss Missouri) 1466707703
“It’s certainly making history and I’m not sure I set out to do that, but I am the first openly gay Miss Missouri and contestant to head to Miss America so I am excited about that. But, mainly, I’m excited to represent the LGBT community,” Erin said in a recent interview with Good Morning America. “We’re underrepresented in public in positions of influence. So I’m excited to take that on and I hope that my presence will help with visibility for the community.”
Keep on slaying, Erin!
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
