Brandon Allen, a senior in the White Station High School of Memphis, Tennessee, fundamentally redefined—nay, revolutionized—what it means to be homecoming queen thanks to the support of his schoolmates and principal.
The Queen of Extra
This past Friday night, Allen, a self-proclaimed “Queen of Extra” who identifies as gay, was crowned Homecoming Royalty following a school-wide vote. With great excitement and in disbelief, Allen accepted the coveted crown dressed in a fabulous gold sequin gown—at once breaking gender norms and raising the bar for high schools all over the country.
The endearing moment was captured by Emmett Campbell, a student photographer who has nothing but praise for his school’s work to promote equality and fair treatment for all its members. And as the high school shared the photo with the community, it soon went viral around the world.
With the post’s fame, however, came the unsurprising criticism from those whose mind-frame cannot get past the bad old days of scot-free discrimination. Fortunately, White Station High School principal Carrye Holland soon came to the student’s defense.
“Here’s the thing: it’s Brandon’s right to run for homecoming court under Title IX.” she wrote on the comment section. “It’s the students’ choice of who they want to support as homecoming royalty. I’m exceedingly proud to be the principal of our amazing school,” she continued. “You don’t have to agree but disrespectful comments will be deleted. WSHS loves and supports everyone regardless of who they are or what they believe. Thank you for the love and light from so many of you.”
Leader among schools
The school proved itself to be committed to rendering its atmosphere free of any discrimination for the LGBTQ+ community by forgoing the traditional titles of homecoming queen and king, changing to a gender-neutral “Homecoming Royalty” instead. The move was welcomed by many, Brandon Allen included.
In his statement, Allen was simply happy to have been honored with the title, expressing pride for his school and principal. “Don’t you dare ever change yourself for anyone else but you!” He said, as reported by Huffington Post “You are beautiful, you are unique and you’re special. Don’t ever second guess your existence or feelings for a second.”
It’s an encouraging message following an encouraging moment. Hopefully, more high schools will soon do the same.
Check out these other articles:
Jonathan Van Ness Stands Up Against Trump’s Attempt To Defund Sexual Health Programs
Marvel Is Bringing A Beloved Gay Superhero To The MCU For ‘Captain Marvel 2’
Teddy Quinlivan Is Officially Chanel’s First Transgender Model
