Djuan Trent, a Former Miss Kentucky, Comes Out as 'Queer' By Tim Nudd Djuan Trent, who won the crown of Miss Kentucky in 2010 and finished in the top 10 of the Miss America competition in 2011, has made history by coming out as a lesbian – the first national pageant contestant to do so. She made the announcement in a lengthy post on her blog. "I have written and re-written and deleted and restarted this post more times than I care to share," she wrote, "and after all of that I have finally realized: 'There ain't nothin' to it, but to do it.' So, here we go folks …" "I am queer." Trent, 27, said she struggled with her decision but decided to come out because of Kentucky's current battle over gay marriage. The state's ban on recognizing out-of-state gay marriages was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge last month. "People can't know that their best friend, brother, sister, co-worker, neighbor, news anchor, favorite singer, or local coffee shop barista is being oppressed and denied the rights in which their heterosexual counterparts [that] are so happily welcomed partake, unless you open your mouth and say it," Trent wrote. In a follow-up post, Trent wrote that she had three goals with her announcement – self-liberation, inspiration and awareness – and said her "heart is warmed from the overwhelmingly positive and encouraging words" from her supporters. She also wrote about Ellen Page's decision to come out, which happened a week before Trent's announcement. "Listening to her speech, I was able to relate on so many levels," Trent wrote. "But this is what really hit me: 'I am tired of lying by omission…' Girl, what?! For real! Lying by omission and using non-descript pronouns … that gets really old, really quick." Former Miss Kentucky Reveals What It Was Like To Come Out As Queer Miss Kentucky 2010 had a secret. Djuan Trent, the strikingly gorgeous beauty queen who’s lived her whole life in the south, didn’t quite know how to tell people, or herself for that matter, that she is queer. So she put it up on her blog, Life in 27, and sat back to see what would happen. She didn’t expect much attention, but “queer beauty queen” does have a nice ring to it. Many still didn’t know what to make of the term “queer,” finding sexual fluidity much harder to grasp than the easily digestible gay or straight. “To me it’s understanding that we as human beings reserve the right to be attracted to a person, to a soul, and not necessarily the sex that’s attached to that,” she explains. “You could go through your whole life being attracted to only men or only women and then you meet that one person who’s not what you had been attracted to, but that’s OK because you have that connection and it works.” Nor was it an easy concept for Djuan herself to come to terms with while she was exploring identity, labels and instinct. “All of the guys I dated, I would tell them ‘So I think you need to know this about me. I used to be attracted to girls but now I’m not anymore. I prayed it away and that’s a part of my life that doesn’t exist anymore,’” she says. Djuan is the subject of a Story magazine cover profile, and the 27-year-old comes across with poise and reflection that go beyond her years. She talks about her religious upbringing and how it clouded her coming out process, her family’s reactions and how she plans to use her platform to “make some difference.” And we don’t think she means world peace. Head here to read the full profile.
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