Prompted by a recent gay marriage
ruling in Kentucky, Djuan Trent, Miss Kentucky 2010, last week
announced that she's gay.
“I am queer,” Trent wrote in a blog
post titled Turning “They” into “We.”
Trent said that she
was nervous about publicly sharing her story and found it difficult
to find the right words.
“I could write about what it was like
to come out to my mom for the third and final time at the age of 26
(the first time was when I was in the 4th grade and the second time
was in college),” Trent
wrote. “I could write about the years I spent praying to a God
whom I wanted so badly to serve with all of my heart, but couldn't
understand why this God made me 'wrong.' I could write about all the
times that people have asked me if I have a boyfriend and I've
purposely chosen to just say 'no' with no further explanation. I
could write about all the reasons I have been told I shouldn't be gay
(that's an interesting list). I could write about all the times I
talked about how gross it was when a girl had a crush on me, even
though I may have secretly liked her too. I could write about how
scared I have felt that I would have to watch friends and family
members walk out of my life if I ever decided to come out. I could
write about how disappointed I have been in myself for being an open
supporter by day, and living it up in the safety of the closet by
night.”
“I could write books about all of
those things,” Trent continued, “but what has really fueled my
passion in writing today, has been” a ruling knocking down a
portion of Kentucky's ban on gay marriage.
(Related: Kentucky
AG refuses to defend gay marriage ban; Gov. to hire outside counsel.)
Trent, who finished in the top ten in
the 2011 Miss America pageant, added: “Ideally, I would love to one
day live in a society where coming out is no longer necessary because
we don't make assumptions about one another's sexuality and
homophobia is laid to rest.”