The internet is buzzing with a story about high school girl who was told that she couldn't go to the prom because her date was inappropriate -- as in, the wrong gender.
Constance McMillen of Jackson, Mississippi wanted to go to the prom -- an event that is already fraught with all kinds of angst for any teenager.
Who do I ask? What do I wear? Those are the questions that any normal teenager would ask, and Constance asked them, too.
But apparently the 18 year old came up with what others thought were the wrong answers.
Constance wanted take her girlfriend, and wear a tuxedo instead of a dress.
It seems the folks who run the school system were so freaked out that they decided to cancel the prom altogether.
Now not only is Constance's dance card wrecked, so is the culmination of a four year stretch for an entire group of kids.
I didn't go to my high school prom. By the time I got to college, however, I'd met a bunch of people who also missed out on that, so we vowed to attend our college senior dance together. But by then we were older, obviously, and the experience was totally different, albeit fun.
You can't go back, as we all know.
Constance is about to lose out on one of those experiences that every American kid should enjoy if they want to, at a time in her life when it means so incredibly much.
In fact, there's a vintage tuxedo from Lord & Taylor in my wardrobe -- tails and all. Felt very elegant in it.
The ACLU has gone to bat for Constance, and she has filed a lawsuit against the school. She wants the prom reinstated, and she wants to go with her chosen date in her chosen clothing.
I'm with her.
And if she hasn't got a tux yet, she can call me.
I'd be honored to let her wear mine.
Amen, and pass the mustard.
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4 comments:
Tener Cojones
(TIME`S THEY ARE A CHANGING)
this is a sign of the new generation
she must proud of herself
and her school mates relieved to be excused
from such a dysfunctional ritual
I have faith in our youth
The Leaden Eyed
Let not young souls be smothered out before
They do quaint deeds and fully flaunt their pride.
It is the world's one crime its babes grow dull,
Its poor are ox-like, limp and leaden-eyed.
Not that they starve; but starve so dreamlessly,
Not that they sow, but that they seldom reap,
Not that they serve, but have no gods to serve,
Not that they die, but that they die like sheep.
Vachel Lindsay
Ana, Amen!! I agree with you. I am behind Constance 100%
Well, she is in Mississippi... not exactly a stronghold of liberal thinking. I wonder if this would have even been an issue somewhere else. But here's the bottom line: a group (in this case prevailing attitudes, nationally speaking) only moves as fast as the slowest member. This country still has a long way to go.
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