“[H]istory has been made,” she stated happily on her Facebook page. “Doors have been opened and memories made[.]” This past Sunday, as the competition began to fade, she was just as optimistic and encouraged those who have paid attention to her to move forward. “The journey is not over. The world is your oyster. It’s what you do with what you have that makes you shine,” she wrote with inspiration.
She ended up becoming a finalist in the competition but eventually lost the city title to Kristin Bopp and the Southern California cities title Megan O’Connell-Barbe.
For more information and photo galleries, visit www.justinrudd.com/pageants/.
November 7, 3:30pm | Jenelle Hutcherson, a 25-year-old hairstylist at The Den Salon, is aiming to become the first openly gay winner of the Miss Long Beach pageant and her hopes and goals do not stop there. She has also officially been accepted into the Miss California USA pageant, representing downtown Long Beach at its show in Palm Desert in January of next year.
Following a suggestion to enter by her longtime client and Miss Long Beach director, Justin Rudd, Jenelle began gathering support through her Facebook fan page. Her words are those of a young woman truly attempting to engage a community. She writes that she “hop[es] to set an example and make people more aware of who we are, [a]s opposed to being uneducated about the matter.”
Her example on the pageant stage will be undoubtedly noticed as she takes advantage of the many rule changes that have been incurred, particularly in the evening gown and swimsuit areas. Ditching the normal, typical concept of a gown, Jenelle will sport a homemade tuxedo. And her swimsuit? Try a pair of board shorts with a tank. As she told Out in the 562 in a profile on her entry into the competition, her style is “elegant, with a metallic and punk-rock edge.”
Though unorthodox and unconventional, Jenelle’s message remains clear despite one’s viewpoint of her participation: “Help me to represent diversity,” she says, “and [the] message of equality.”