The preliminary competition for the 2016 Miss & Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific hosted by Leah\u2019s Fabulous Production was held on was held on Oct. 22 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Tamuning Community Center. \u00a0In the event, the teen contestants were judged on talent and costume, which was to be made of recycled products.<\/p>\n

The Miss & Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific Competitions are held to show support for Guam\u2019s teenage transgender community.<\/p>\n

Nevaeh Lashay, Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific 2015 is an advocate in Guam\u2019s transgender community.<\/p>\n

Lashay attended the 4^{th<\/sup> Annual Miss & Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific Preliminary Competition in support of the teenage contestants and to hand down her title of \u201cMiss Teen Queen of the Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n}

\u201cThe mission for Leah\u2019s Fabulous Productions is to promote acceptance and equality through all walks of life,\u201d Lashay said.<\/p>\n

Lashay was senior at Southern High School when she won the title of \u201cMiss Teen Queen of the Pacific 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI used that [the title] as an advantage to talk to my peers, to get more info out about transgender,\u201d Lashay said, \u201cI\u00a0wanted to let everyone know how the community works, we\u2019re just people like everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kylie Diosa Duenas, Miss Queen of the Pacific 2015 is another active advocate in the LGBT community.<\/p>\n

Duenas attended this year\u2019s event and came to offer her support and advice to the teenage contestants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just so fulfilling to see so many different people from so many different cultures and races sit in the audience and truly support the\u00a0contestants on stage,\u201d Duenas said.<\/p>\n

Duenas and Lashay both spoke about their family and background as supportive and accepting. However, Duenas described the difficulties that past Miss Queens of the Pacific had.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really pay homage to those who have come before me, because it was a lot tougher then than it is now in 2016, there are still a lot of people who are close-minded, but back then our past queens took some of the hardest hits,\u201d Duenas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s easier for me to be comfortable with who I am because it\u2019s not so hard anymore,\u201d Duenas said, \u201cthere are more understanding people than there are negative close-minded people.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Miss Queen of the Pacific, Duenas said a lot of brain and dedication goes into finding the best way to impact the community.<\/p>\n

Duenas sends a message to the teenage contestants and to the transgender community that: \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way with acceptance and equality and there are people who support you and you are going to encounter people that don\u2019t, but just remember there are always more who will.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The preliminary competition for the 2016 Miss & Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific hosted by Leah\u2019s Fabulous Production was held on was held on Oct. 22 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Tamuning Community Center. \u00a0In the event, the teen contestants were judged on talent and costume, which was to be made of … <\/p>\n

Read more “Miss Queens of the Pacific calls for acceptance”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":1968,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,4],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[272],"yoast_head":"\n