From the Desk of Larry & Terry

Once A Miss Gay America, Always A Miss Gay America…. 

an article, written by L & T Entertainment,  published in
 “The Excellence” Newsletter in May 2015         

Glamorous, elegant, classy, talented, sophisticated, beautiful, entertaining, approachable, personable, polished, the best of the best, sincere, focused and well put together…. The aforementioned are just some of the words or phrases we hear and think of quite often when we think of a Miss Gay America titleholder. It is our hope that whomever is fortunate enough to capture the title of Miss Gay America, will be most of those things before they have the crown placed on their head. If not, they will spend most of their reign attempting to prove to the world that they are the epitome of such description. All of the Miss Gay America titleholders have realized tremendous growth in all areas during their reign. Much of the growth comes with the experience of being THE administrator. Much of the growth comes from crafting the illusion, entertaining and traveling time and time again. Much of the growth comes from simply learning from others e.g. beauty tips, costuming helpful hints and dealing with the general public. 

The world, just as this national office, expects great things from each person who has been, is or will be called Miss Gay America. The numbers of those men who have attempted to become the next Miss Gay America now surpass 10,000, considering the near 40 plus years of competition. Of those who have attempted to qualify only 43 men, as of the date of this writing have been fortunate to be called Miss Gay America. Just by title alone, those who have been called Miss Gay America are unique to the world. Then, when looking at each of the individuals who have been called Miss Gay America, there is even greater uniqueness. But, in the midst of so much uniqueness, there is one common thread. That thread is the descriptions as detailed above. Once word to summarize the many adjectives used to describe a Miss Gay America titleholder is often referred to as “EXCELLENCE”.

It is imperative that during the reign, the Miss Gay America titleholder must live up to the expectations, or at least be close to it. Anything less would be mediocre and essentially would be deemed as unacceptable with most. We often say that, “you must be IT before you become IT…” What is meant by that expression is that one usually does not successfully emulate the qualities of a Miss Gay America only during the week of competition That is, most often one who usually tries to behave/entertain/perform/interview in a manner that is not consistent with “their usualness”, there is often something that occurs during the week of competition that reveals to the Judges that the particular contestant is weak in one area or another that most likely be great enough of a weakness to prevent that certain contestant from capturing the title. Granted, there are some that have been crowned as Miss Gay America that may not, in the opinion of this writer, been “ready” to be Miss Gay America however even those that some feel may not be fully ready are generally polished enough to enhance their character (both on stage and off stage) so as to be close to being the Miss Gay America that all have come to expect. 

The expectations are clear once someone is crowned as a Miss Gay America and those very expectations exist all through the reign. But, what happens after the reign? Do the same standards and expectations apply to an individual once they relinquish their title as the reigning Miss Gay America?  The answer is a resounding YES! The same standards and expectations that apply during the reign of a Miss Gay America apply after the reign of Miss Gay America. Seemingly, the world is cruel especially when Miss Gay America does not “measure up” to the standards that were established and continued by those who have reigned before. Sometimes the world is cruel to a mediocre Miss Gay America because they (the world) are simply jealous because they have never been good enough to capture the title or those that they strongly supported were never good enough to capture the title. But, the fact remains that a mediocre Miss Gay America titleholder is not acceptable in the eyes of anyone. Especially when the world holds the title of Miss Gay America in such high regard as being the best of the best. But once the title is relinquished, the same expectations continue, both on stage and off stage, as seemingly the eyes of the world are always watching. Fair or not, when one become a Miss Gay America titleholder they are placed on pedestal for life.  The same classy behavior (elegant, sophisticated, glamourous, unbiased) and the same appearance (classy, beautiful, well-put-together) standards should continue. This includes behavior while at public events relative to all aspects of the pageant, including contestant support. As we allow certain forever Miss Gay America titleholders to serve on the Advisory Board, after their reign, there continues to be levels of expectation from the public. Rest assured, when one does not meet such expectation we will be notified and as such, have no choice but the remedy the situation. We rely heavily on the Forever Miss Gay America titleholders to lead by example… and when actions cause greater than usual problems for this national office, we will deal harshly with the issue at hand, including consideration of suspension. Because we have such high accountability for the Forever Miss Gay America titleholders, any suspension levied against a Forever Miss Gay America titleholder will be issued in 5 year increments. 

We are often asked, do we support Forever Miss Gay America titleholders who attempt to become involved in other systems. Our answer is always the same and that is… we would never discourage someone from furthering/continuing their career however if they choose to compete for another title, they should be very prepared to win. More often than not, once a title of Miss Gay America is captured, it is often referred to as “the pinnacle in the art form of female impersonation”. So, if one captures the title of Miss Gay America, then enters another system and is not successful, we generally see a certain level of decreased respect. Granted, the level of the respect from the world is constant just by one holding such title however, the level of respect suffers somewhat in this case.

As this national office makes effort to hire, Forever Miss Gay America titleholders, at least as many as our budget will allow, for the national competition, we always ask them as entertainers to look their best in hair, make-up and costuming. Also to perform to your best ability so that the audience can be entertained and to show the contestants why you were crowned Miss Gay America.  The typical entertainment numbers should not be performed but rather they should choose an entertainment number with appropriate costuming to show the world why the Miss Gay America titleholders are the best of the best.  This should also be the goal in each and every performance that a forever Miss Gay America does when not in “official pageant mode” too… We have surprised a Forever Miss Gay America titleholders along the way in making an unannounced appearance at one of their shows. Sometimes they are as consistently amazing as when they perform in official pageant capacity and sometime not so much. As we always recommend, whether one is a titleholder or not, each and every performance should be the best of one’s ability, that is well planned and unique… The illusion should have been tremendously enhanced for many reasons during the reign so as long as one continues to perform, one should always choose the best in apparel, hair, music quality and costuming accordingly… a good thought to have is “WWMGA Do?”  that is, What Would Miss Gay America Do?

We always suggest to all competitors that they should emulate exactly as one would expect Miss Gay America to be… and if they win the title of Miss Gay America, then great! And if they do not, they will at least be a much better entertainer and person, if they adopt the expectations as their personal “code of ethics”… We always suggest to the current Miss Gay America, that no matter what you do, there will always be someone watching and waiting for you to fall, so it’s best to think about every word and every action, before spoken or done, and if thought about in the context of what is in the best interest of the Miss Gay America pageant system, usually the appropriate action will occur and there will not be concerns. Likewise, after the reign, we strongly encourage the Forever Miss Gay America titleholders to continue to exude EXCELLENCE. At the end of the day, it is far better to be respected than otherwise. Sooner or later, looks and talents may become more and more difficult to maintain but the actions such as acts of kindness, behavior in the public and guidance for others will be forever remembered. However, while one is actively entertaining after the reign, they should continue to adhere to the very standards while reigning, both on stage and off stage. 

Being Miss Gay America extends far beyond looking glamorous and being talented. It is about being a leader. Being a leader is about mentoring, inspiring and setting examples for others. Those who aspire to be Miss Gay America do so for many reasons including wanting to join the ranks of so many other incredible entertainers who have truly made a difference in their craft. While we have so many high expectations of Miss Gay America during her reign, we also continue the same high level of expectations after the reign. Being Miss Gay America changes the life of each individual who becomes Miss Gay America. This includes conducting oneself like a Miss Gay America, having wardrobe like a Miss Gay America and entertaining like a Miss Gay America after the reign. Apparel and performance numbers can change to adapt to the age of the Forever Miss Gay America but certain behavior both on stage and off stage is a constant and should be professional at all times. 

It is not easy being a public leader and/or celebrity because it seems as though the world holds a public leader or celebrity to a higher standard which is why we ask all attempting to become Miss Gay America to carefully analyze what they are asking for… because they just might get that for which they volunteer… so then the question becomes, are the ready to be it… even AFTER the reign?

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