Meet the first open lesbian candidate in the Miss America contest! Ms. Erin O' Flaherty
In June 2016, Erin O’Flaherty made history as the first openly gay Miss America contestant after being crowned Miss Missouri.
O’Flaherty is now preparing to take the stage on Sept. 11 to compete in the Miss America pageant against the other individual state winners.
O’Flaherty’s presence in the pageant is particularly meaningful to femme lesbians who are often invisible in the larger context of queer community, simply because they don’t look like mainstream America’s typical idea of a lesbian.
In this interview with The Huffington Post, O’Flaherty reflects on the public reception of her historic win, why she thinks it has taken this long for there to be an openly gay Miss America contestant and what she wants queer kids to take away from her platform.
*I know I will be watching proudly. Go Erin go!
