Comments on: Gay Teen Prom Queen

By: lunacy

lunacy — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:05:50 +0000

When I was a junior in high school the least attractive but sweetest cheerleader became prom queen. I think the upset came about because all the beautiful girls were so equally beautiful and equally bitches and all in the same clique that folks just opted out of choosing between them and voted for sweet MaryAnn.

Maybe that's the case here. Maybe all the female options were cliquish bitches.

By: cian

cian — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:53:59 +0000

I guess kids just want to have fun. Thank God.

By: Bill H

Bill H — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:30:32 +0000

"Um. "Queen" is a word for male homosexuals. So it was a linguistic statement, not one about gender roles." Not entirely. It is the word for male homosexuals who display their sexuality in a certain rather flamboyant, usually overt, way. Those who are especially overt and dramatic in displaying that way of behavior are called "flaming queens."

By: davod

davod — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:50:46 +0000

"Lets remember, however, that this is taking place in Los Angeles, California--a town home to such liberals as Henry Waxman and Manny Ramirez and a state that is home to torturer Nance Peolosi. What else are we to expect from such a morally-debased place"

This also happened at a university in Washington, DC.

He and his husband will have fun in their later years, reminiscing with the kids about how they crashed through the gender barrier.

By: Joy W. McCann

Joy W. McCann — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:58:09 +0000

Um. "Queen" is a word for male homosexuals. So it was a linguistic statement, not one about gender roles.

And the kids thought it would be interesting to have a male prom queen.

And this is Los Angeles.

By: anjin-san

anjin-san — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:18:35 +0000

Different strokes for different folks. Maybe the kids now are just a little less hung up than we were...

By: HiItsNino

HiItsNino — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:15:43 +0000

"why isn't he the King?"

Let me answer the obvious: Any guy who wears a tiara is a queen.

I'm just glad at his age he is able to be so comfortable with himself. Kudos to the other kids at his school too, as they seem to not mind either.

By: Eric Florack

Eric Florack — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:32:15 +0000

Much is explained in the comments, not necessarily on the topic at hand.

James:

Commenter PD Shaw suggests the question should be “Why isn’t he the King?” Quite. The kid isn’t transgendered; he’s homosexual.

That's how he wants it pronounced. Didn't we just have this discussion?
[/snark]

By: Grewgills

Grewgills — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:46:08 +0000

It's obvious to me the kid is an attention whore.

and that's different from the average prom queen how?

By: An Interested Party

An Interested Party — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:21:40 +0000

It's obvious to me the kid is an attention whore. It's not about being gay or feeling left out as much as it's getting maximum attention. That sort of behavior is what turns people off.

Oh, so that's why so many people dislike Newt Gingrich...

By: Steve Plunk

Steve Plunk — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:56:07 +0000

It's obvious to me the kid is an attention whore. It's not about being gay or feeling left out as much as it's getting maximum attention. That sort of behavior is what turns people off.

Okay, I've put the target on my back. Fire at will.

By: An Interested Party

An Interested Party — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:22:20 +0000

Uh, sure. This is a man running for prom queen.

Dressing up as Superman for a costume party = normal.

Dressing up as Superman to go grocery shopping = weird.

I made that comparison for two reasons...dressing in drag is not dressing as Superman, but rather, dressing in the clothes of someone from the opposite gender...and this is a singular event...he's not the prom queen of the grocery store...

By: Gustopher

Gustopher — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:19:18 +0000

Perhaps his boyfriend was running for Prom King.

By: Megan

Megan — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:03:51 +0000

I think the key quote as to why he ran for the prom queen instead of prom king is this:

Garcia said he saw fliers advertising the prom and the election, and they didn't specify that the queen must be a girl. He thought the role would suit him better than prom king. "I don't wish to be a girl," he told the Los Angeles Times. said. "I just wish to be myself."

The point being that for some people the gender binary is not applicable. It's not always male or female (or, for that matter, transgendered male or transgendered female).

By: just me

just me — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:21:42 +0000

I don't think this is a huge issue-it is a student run and student voted election and he won, but I do wonder why a homosexual needs to run for prom queen and not prom king given that he is a male. Seems to me this feeds stereotypes more than alleviates them. I almost think it would have more significance had he won prom king as it is, since I figure some people voted for him because of the novelty not necessarily because they thought he should win.