A lesbian who made history by competing in America's Miss Long
Beach beauty pageant will participate in the Miss California USA
Contest, this weekend.
Twenty-six year old Jenelle Hutcherson, a hair stylist, became the
first openly-gay woman to compete in Miss Long Beach back in
November.
Despite not winning the Donald Trump-sponsored contest, the
Balersfield native made an indelible mark on the proceedings by
wearing shorts and a t-shirt for the swimwear round and a royal
purple tux for the evening wear section.
Hutcherson made it to the finals but lost out to Kristin Bopp for
Miss Long Beach and Megan O'Connell-Barbre for Miss Southern
California cities.
At the time she stated: "History has been made. I didn't win the
crown or sash, but doors were opened that will never be shut
again."
And she was right. This weekend, after being asked to participate
in the national rounds by Trump himself, Hutcherson will be
competing against several other women for the title.
Judging criteria includes character, poise, confidence and
personality.
However, according to an interview with website She Wired, she
will be entering with an anti-bullying message because "equality
within a diverse community is my understanding of world
peace."
Jenelle, whose cheek bears a 'NO H8' logo in her press photos,
says her experiences of childhood bullying and depression after her
father's death AIDS prompted her to volunteer as a mentor at the
Long Beach LBGTQ Centre.
"I'm tired of hearing about gay and lesbian kids killing
themselves," she says. "I was bullied in high school. That could
have been me."
Miss California USA is taking place on 6,7 and 8 January, with the
finals on Sunday 8.
