Fairfax High in Los Angeles Elects Gay Male Prom Queen

Sergio Garcia, a gay male Fairfax High student, was elected prom queen this month.

Prior to his election, he assured his classmates that if selected, he would not wear a dress. He is quoted as saying:

I will be wearing a suit, but don't be fooled, deep down inside, I am a queen!

Garcia indicated that this all started out as a stunt and challenge, but ended up being a serious effort which generated discussion at the school about gender roles. He told his senior class audience:

At one time, prom may have been a big popularity contest where the best-looking guy or girl were crowned king and queen. Things have changed and it's no longer just about who has the most friends or who wears the coolest clothes. Sure, I'm not your typical prom queen candidate. There's more to me than meets the eye.

Although not all Fairfax High students supported Garcia, some, including senior class president Vanessa Lo, felt Garcia's election showed the open-mindedness of the senior class.

Virginia Uribe, founder of Project 10 which is a district wide on-site support program for Gay, lesbian,bisexual and transgender youth, felt that Garcia's election is an indication of where society is now on gay rights. She is quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying, "Gender-bending is just kind of in".

Garcia's success in being elected Prom Queen brings to Robin Byler's statement, posted to this blog on August 20, 2008, in which she declared that the Gay Marriage battle was already won, although perhaps for the next generation, because young people already believed in it.

A solid majority of young people under the age of 24 believe that same gender partners should have the right to marry. So the Supreme Court is just one more battle in a war we have already won, be it for the next generation.” (emphasis added) (Robin Byler, Lesbian News, March 2008, Vol. 33 Issue 8, p. 9)

To read the Los Angeles Times story, click here.
To read the KTLA story, click here.

Additional resource: California Safe Schools Coalition

- TwoMinuteBriefing thanks JP for recommending this story.