Er O'Flaherty Is the First Openly Gay Miss Ameri Conttant -- And Other Pageant Firsts

NASHVILLE'S SUZY WONG CROWNED MISS GAY AMERI

She's fally won the top Wong, the drag-queen alter ego of Nashville chef and rtratr Arnold Myt, was crowned Miss Gay Ameri 2017 at the anizatn's annual pageant, held Memphis last weekend. This is the 45th year of the, son of Thai rtrant pneer Patty Myt, who opened Internatnal Market 1975, has three properti Nashville, cludg alter-namake Suzy Wong's Hoe of Yum on Church Street and blvd and pm, both across the street om his mother's Belmont Boulevard market and wng, Suzy Wong was joed onstage by parents Patty and W Myt and sister Anna Gay Ameri was actually the brachild of a Nashville club owner named Jerry Peek, and the first petn took place the summer of 1972 Nashville at the former Watch Your Hat and Coat Saloon on Send Avenue and his partner renamed the place — signed as a untry-wtern mic bar — The Saloon and cid that "the female impersonatn thg would be different and would go over big, " Peek said a Tennsean terview revived the pageant aga 1973 at the Glass Menagerie on 16th Avenue.

One of the early challeng of the pageant was fdg a chary that would accept what was then lled "gay" money. "In 2012 Myt won Miss Gay Tennsee Ameri and last year earned the crown as Miss Gay Wtern Stat Jim Myers at 615-259-8367 on Instagram@cularyand on Twter@ReadJimMyers. In June 2016, Er O’Flaherty ma history as the first openly gay Miss Ameri nttant after beg crowned Miss Missouri.

O’Flaherty’s prence the pageant is particularly meangful to femme lbians who are often visible the larger ntext of queer muny, simply bee they don’t look like mastream Ameri’s typil ia of a this terview wh The Huffgton Post, O’Flaherty reflects on the public receptn of her historic w, why she thks has taken this long for there to be an openly gay Miss Ameri nttant and what she wants queer kids to take away om her Kravz via Getty ImagThe Huffgton Post: Beg the first openly gay Miss Ameri Pageant nttant is both a huge acplishment and a legacy tle. We are not only ready for an openly gay state tleholr, but a Miss Ameri, too! I owe so many thanks to the Miss Ameri Organizatn for simply existg to give me and all tleholrs this outlet to velop our learship skills and do our part to change the world for the do you thk has taken this long for there to be an openly gay Miss Ameri nttant?

MEET THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MISS AMERI CONTTANT IN HISTORY

I thk is a reflectn of our tim, wh acceptance of the LGBTQ muny makg stris forward every settg ― polics, sports, entertament ― that a gay woman now feels fortable enough her own sk to be open a public way. After petg pageants for generatns the closet or workg behd the scen, gays and lbians fally get to see one of their own take one of pageantry's biggt stag. (AP) — After petg pageants for generatns the closet or workg behd the scen, gays and lbians fally get to see one of their own take one of pageantry’s biggt stag.

“Behd the scen, we’ve been well-reprented, but I’m the first openly gay tle holr, so I’m very exced, ” she told The Associated Prs a recent terview. Miss’d Ameri took s name om the fact that many gay pageant workers toiled behd the scen durg Miss Ameri and never got to see what was happeng onstage. The “Show Us Your Sho” para that has bee a fixture of Miss Ameri, which nttants ri vehicl on the Boardwalk and show off their state-themed footwear, sprang om the tert of gay spectators, he said.

Antwan Lee, who won the Miss Gay Ameri 2016 pageant unr the stage name Asia O’Hara, would excedly watch Miss Ameri every year as a child and a young man, imagg what would be like onstage.

MISS GAY AMERI

“To see that on TV wh 50 women, as a young gay boy, that’s the first place you see such a ncentratn of that. Hchen said the social activism of many Miss Ameri nttants ronat wh the gay muny; the Miss’d Ameri drag queen parody pageant rais $300, 000 a year for lol and natnal chari and has bee the top social event of the year Atlantic Cy’s gay muny.