[tw: source is the advocate]
It’s some kind of miracle how comfortable Analouisa Valencia — a lesbian African-American/Latina beauty queen — is in her skin. Currently Miss Lyman, S.C., Valencia travels to the state capitol in July to compete in the Miss South Carolina contest and, hopefully, advance to the Miss America pageant. Valencia isn’t coming out per se, because the 19-year-old college student has been out for years; she took her girlfriend, Tamyra Bell, to her prom and attended Bell’s. But Valencia is ready to tell the world her story and remains optimistic the judges in Columbia will see her like so many already do: as a role model. The teen was candid in a recent interview with The Advocate, talking excitedly about her future and the women who inspire her.
The Advocate: How did you get involved in beauty pageants?
Analouisa Valencia: I’m from Spartanburg, S.C. and I started pageantry when I was Miss South Carolina Princess for Miss Spartanburg 2000. After that, I decided I wanted to be in pageants when I got older. So, when I got old enough I started to compete.When did you come out?
In ninth-grade.Oh, wow. And you went to public school in South Carolina?
I did.How was that received?
My teachers were ok with it. My mom at first said, “Well, I don’t support it, but I love you so I’ll support you.” She’s ok with it now, but it’s been a couple of years. My dad at first was very, very, very furious. I think it took him a good three weeks to finally accept the fact that I was just going to be who I was and be proud of it. My teachers were very supportive.How would you describe the pageant circuit in South Carolina? Is it welcoming to LGBT people?
Well, I had one question during an interview that was, How would you feel about having a lesbian Miss South Carolina? I said, “I don’t think her sexuality has anything to do with it. It doesn’t define her as a person, because she’s still going to be a good human being.” Miss South Carolina should be a great role model, but her sexual orientation shouldn’t define her as a person. And it shouldn’t define her getting a crown. I do have friends in the pageant circuit that are accepting of gay people and I find that it has given me a lot of support and a lot of extra push.Since you came out, do things feel different in South Carolina? Do they feel more welcoming?
In certain parts it’s a little bit more welcoming. There are certain organizations and certain people and certain areas that aren’t so welcoming of [gay people], so I guess we’re still getting there. Very slowly but surely.Do you think people can’t reconcile a beauty queen with the word “lesbian”?
That is kind of true, but at the same time I’m not thinking about that so much because I have people who are supportive. But I think it does play a part, a small part in me not having hadn’t won in local pageants because some judges knew.
Posts tagged "black"
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The Wretched of the Earth: Lesbian Black Latina Vying for Miss South Carolina Crown →
Source advocate.com -
Today… yes…
(via slutupashley)
Source makemestfu -
Love the contrast here..
(via smokemother)
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(via paradoxidus)
Source enigmadoamor2013 -
And You Have to Give Them Hope: Black meteorologist fired for responding to negative comments about her hair →
But don’t worry, no one involved in this scenario was racist. *Sigh*
Clutch Magazine reported that Rhonda A. Lee, a meteorologist at an ABC affiliate in Shreveport, Louisiana, was referenced in this post by a viewer on Facebook:
“the black lady that does the news is a very nice…
Source feministing.com -
Gifted, Young, and Black interviews tiona.m
Our second interview with tiona.m (Multi-media artist, Executive Producer/Director of Harriet’s Gun Media™) is up on the site! Click through for beauty and wisdom!
our second interview is up y’all!
(via projectqueer)
Source giftedyoungandblack -
Love!
(via sweetwitchy)
Source sevenofakind -
Charlotte Ray Became 1st Black Female Lawyer 140 Years Ago
Pioneering Black female lawyer Charlotte E. Ray achieved her historic feat 140 years ago today in 1872, becoming just the third woman ever admitted to practice law in the country at the time. Ray was also the first woman admitted to practice law in the nation’s capital and the first woman to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court.
(via sparklingsodacans)
Source newsone.com -
Pencil Dresses | Alexander McQueen 2012
Source thesanguinesunrise -
LGBTQ* Novels/Books To Keep On Your Radar
Novels with Black/African-American Lesbian Themes or Characters (1920s-1970s)
- Home To Harlem by Claude McKay (1928) - two scenes set in black lesbian bars, glimpses of early Harlem
- Young Man with a Horn by Dorothy Baker (1938) - Josephine Jordan, a singer, has a relationship with Amy North, a wealthy woman
- The Wasteland by Jo Sinclair (1946) - novel depicting the oppression of women of color and opposition to women of color in lesbian circles
- The Big Money by John Dos Passos (1960) - Harlem 1920s
- Loving Her by Ann Allen Shockley (1974) - one of the first novels to explore interracial relationships between lesbians
- Strange Brothers by Blair Niles (1975) - Book takes liberties and draws from Harlem lesbian culture of the 1920s
- Ruby by Rosa Guy (1976) - West Indian girl finds friendship after relocating
- In Her Day by Rita Mae Brown (1976) - longtime friendship of Adele, a wealthy lesbian woman of color, and Carole, a working-class white lesbian woman
- Ed Dean is Queer by N.A. Diaman (1978) - San Francisco elects their new mayor (a queer woman of color)
List/Information From:
Richards, Dell. Lesbian Lists: A Look at Lesbian Culture, History, and Personalities. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1990. p.34
Source knowhomo
