When 23-year-old Arianna Quan was crowned Miss Michigan in June, the last thing she expected was to be attacked for being ‘ugly’.
The Asian-American beauty queen told People magazine that online hate, from her native China and from America, escalated once she won the title.
“All this negativity came out,” she said. “Especially about my appearance and how I’m apparently unfit to represent the Chinese population because I’m ‘ugly.'”
Quan was born in Beijing, but moved to America when she was a child, becoming a citizen at 14. She says that while she felt like an outsider as the only Asian-American in her Detroit school, it taught her to embrace and value her uniqueness.
It’s probably her earlier experiences that have made her so resilient against the latest trolls.
In fact, Quan has even gone as far as to thank the people who have criticised her since her win.
“I see it as a part of my job as a state title-holder and potential Miss America,” she said.
“My goal is to just drive the conversation in an important direction, because there are so many things we have to discuss about immigration and diversity in this country right now.”
Scroll through to see more from Arianna Quan on Instagram.
Arianna Quan on Instagram.
The comments certainly aren’t stopping her, and she’ll be competing in the Miss America Competition in Atlantic City this weekend.
Her platform ‘Being American: Immigration and Citizenship Education’ aims to raise awareness of, and promote, diversity in America.