Muff Muncher Mulls Pageant Run, Panic Ensues

First Openly Gay Woman Competes for Miss California

"Fewer things are more all-American than the Super Bowl, Fourth of July parades, and Miss America. Most of us grew up watching as these gorgeous women teetered on stage in conservative swimsuits and dazzling evening gowns. I clearly recall the interview portion, which is where you hear the contestants espouse their views about starving children or literacy or some other safe cause. I never thought I'd see the day a lesbian was in the ranks talking about human rights, marriage equality, and gay teen suicide... until Mollie Thomas.

Thomas' announcement of her intention to run for Miss California in this weekend's pageant stirs a very sacred pot. Pageants are typically reserved for the proper, the straight, and the narrow. She is anything but. The spirited 19-year-old was raised both on a horse farm in Pennsylvania and in Manhattan by an American mother and a French father. She doesn't recall an official coming out, saying her family has always been aware, supportive, and progressive. Thomas says, "My family is so open and accepting that I knew very young who I was and who I loved."