(Instagram/missamerica.mo)
Miss Missouri 2016 Erin O’Flaherty is headed to compete in the 2017 Miss America pageant, which airs this coming September 11, 2016. What’s making headlines about Miss Missouri is that she is the first openly gay contestant. Read on for the facts on Miss Missouri, what she hopes to represent and more below.
1. Discovering Her True Identity Was a Struggle for Her
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, O’Flaherty opened up about how being very feminine made it challenging for her to discover who she was inside. She explained:
Knowing I might be gay but also being very feminine was kind of confusing for me because I didn’t fit into the stereotypical category I had in my head for a woman in the LGBT community. It took many years of struggle to figure out who I was.
2. She Doesn’t Want Her Sexuality to Be the Focus of Her Miss America Journey
On Good Morning America this morning, O’Flaherty stated that:
I hope that my presence provides visibility for the community … I’m just going to share my story as much as I can.
Miss Missouri says that she hopes for a big year of social change though she doesn’t necessarily want her sexuality to be the focus of her competing. Her dream is to become Miss America.
3. Her Cause Is Suicide Prevention
One thing that is very important to O’Flaherty is suicide prevention. She works closely with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Trevor Project in addition to other organizations, especially for suicides in LGBT youth. O’Flaherty gives her personal take on why she’s an advocate for suicide prevention, stating:
One of my best friends committed suicide when I was 13. As I navigated the grieving process, I became educated on the warning signs of suicide. It became my mission to spread this message — suicide is the second leading cause of death in individuals between the ages of 14 and 25, and the 11th leading cause of death, overall. And LGBT youth are actually eight times more likely to try to commit suicide compared to their straight peers.
O’Flaherty hopes to bring awareness to the amount of suicides prominent in the LGBT community.
4. Being Out About Her Sexuality Hasn’t Been Too Much of a Struggle
Though the journey to figure out who she was internally was a struggle, actually being out wasn’t as difficult. O’Flaherty explained to Cosmopolitan:
It’s always been an internal struggle, deciding to come out in and of itself. But I never felt like I needed to hide it. I’m just not that kind of person. For the most part, my friends and close family I’ve always been out to, but I competed for one year before I was [publicly out] — and I knew that once I was open about it, I would actually do much better in pageants because I would know I was presenting who I really was.
She, at times, incorporates her personal experiences in her pageant questions in order to help bring more awareness to the LGBT community.
5. O’Flaherty Owns a Clothing Boutique When She Isn’t Fulfilling Pageant Duties
Outside of the pageant world, O’Flaherty actually owns a store called Rachel’s Grove, which is a clothing boutique in Chesterfield, Missouri. The boutique is actually a family business that was started by O’Flaherty, her mother, aunt and sister. The boutique’s website explains:
With the name inspired by their Florida roots, Rachel’s Grove was started by sisters Rachel Forst and Leslie Barnes-Young, and daughters Justin O’Flaherty and Erin O’Flaherty. The dream to open Rachel’s Grove was centered on the family’s connection through a shared love for designer fashion and the desire to leave a legacy of awakening confidence in every woman by enabling self-expression through our selections.
Click here to shop online at the boutique.