Bailey Anne Kennedy, a transgender, was crowned Miss Maryland USA. This marks the first time a transgender has held the title.
“I felt confident in my own skin at 31, which is past the old age limit, which is 28 — as you know, Miss Universe Organization lifted the restriction now — so every woman of all ages can compete,” Kennedy said.
Hopefully the victory “will open up some doors, open up some hearts for people to see that there are many aspects of LGBT community out there, and I hope I can be a positive contribution to society in making a difference like the USO program like I’m working with,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy hopes the victory will help promote greater acceptance and representation of the LGBTQ community.
As Miss Maryland USA, Kennedy will now compete in the Miss USA pageant in August.
In interviews, Kennedy spoke of wanting to make sure LGBTQ children feel they belong and can be themselves without facing consequences.
Kennedy also emphasized serving as a positive role model through her work with the USO supporting American troops.
“Not everyone has to agree with the spaces that you occupy, and it doesn’t mean that you aren’t worthy of these opportunities. The work that I will do for the remainder of my life is to make sure that children who feel like me will never have to worry about the consequences of being who they are by simply being myself and being a positive contribution to society,” Kennedy said.
“For the longest time, I never had the need to tell anyone,” Kennedy added. “Not because it’s a secret but it’s none of anyone’s business. To those who matter to me, they don’t care. Those that care about knowing such private & personal details, don’t matter. I can’t wait to start my reign and get back to The USO office and start serving lunches & personally thank our active duty service members like I originally plan [sic] to yesterday because that’s what actually matters to me.”
