Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 523
Featuring content from the hottest gay and gay-friendly spots in New York, each (free!) issue of Get Out! highlights the bars, nightclubs, restaurants, spas and other businesses throughout NYC’s metropolitan area that the city’s gay a population is interested in.
Featuring content from the hottest gay and gay-friendly spots in New York, each (free!) issue of Get Out! highlights the bars, nightclubs, restaurants, spas and other businesses throughout NYC’s metropolitan area that the city’s gay a population is interested in.
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BY JIM SILVESTRI<br />
MEET THE NEW MISS FIRE ISLAND:<br />
GIA BIANCA<br />
STEPHENS!<br />
Hello, Gia. Congratulations on being<br />
crowned Miss Fire Island! Thanks so<br />
much for finding time to chat with us after<br />
this whirlwind week. Are you still super<br />
happy and energized or are you already<br />
focused on the next crown, lol?<br />
Thank you so much! I am still taking some<br />
time to enjoy this huge win. This means the<br />
world to me, and I want to soak it up over<br />
the next year. As far as the next pageant is<br />
concerned, I actually qualified for Miss Gay<br />
America 2024 a few weeks before Miss Fire<br />
Island…so my preparations were already<br />
well under way.<br />
What made you want to try out for Miss FI<br />
this year?<br />
I always love any experience that connects<br />
me to our queer history. Any dedicated<br />
competitor should know about the rich<br />
tradition that is Miss Fire Island. In my<br />
mind, the contest itself is an institution, and<br />
everything in my gut was telling me to give it<br />
another go. I registered to compete without<br />
hesitation as soon as they began accepting<br />
contestants.<br />
I see you’re currently in Salt Lake City,<br />
your home town. That must be an<br />
interesting town to have a drag career!<br />
What’s been your experience with that?<br />
It’s been amazing. My out of town guests are<br />
always shocked at the passionate drag fans<br />
and thriving queer community we have here.<br />
I’ve been performing, hosting and fundraising<br />
for over a decade, and being a small part<br />
of so much growth and exposure for drag<br />
artistry has been a real honor.<br />
So, how many pageant crowns have you<br />
collected so far…and is there one that<br />
holds the most sentimental value for<br />
you?<br />
I’ve collected a dozen titles over the years.<br />
Each crown has its own glory<strong>–</strong>but aside<br />
from Miss Fire Island, my most important<br />
and special crown was Miss Gay New<br />
York America 2022. I competed earlier that<br />
year for a different MGA prelim and wasn’t<br />
successful. I wanted to challenge myself, so<br />
I took another package to NYC a few months<br />
later and won. I put in the work, I asked for<br />
feedback and I won the crown. I’m proud<br />
of myself for taking my drag to one of the<br />
fiercest and most competitive drag markets<br />
in the country. That win instilled so much<br />
confidence in me and proved I’m on the right<br />
path. The best part is, I won the title on my<br />
36th birthday.<br />
What would your best advice be for a<br />
girl who’s considering entering national<br />
pageantry?<br />
Oh wow…That’s a big question! First, I’d say<br />
to do your homework. Every system has its<br />
own standards and scoring methods. Read<br />
the contestant handbook cover to cover,<br />
many times. Bring your best possible self to<br />
the stage, and remember: If you want to be<br />
the best, you have to compete with the best.<br />
IG: @giabiancastephens<br />
Photo: Jeff Eason