High school isn’t meant to be pleasurable. Some teens, inexplicably, have great high-school experiences, but the vast majority find that high school sucks.
LGBT teens face an even tougher time than those on the mainstream Island of Misfit Teens. In high school, you have to figure out who your friends are, what you are good at, what music you like. You have to see if you are good at a sport, try out for the school play, maybe appear in the talent show. You probably have to get a summer job and get your driver’s license. And then you have to think about college. Are you going to live on campus or commute? Do you want urban or rural? Do you want to be far, far away from your family, or opt for a few hours’ drive? What about a major? How are you going to pay for it?
Add to this the pressure of realizing that you are attracted to the same sex. Telling your best friends. Telling your family. Trying not to tell the whole school.
And what about prom? If you are going, can you take your boyfriend/girlfriend? Can you push the gender stereotypes with your dress/tux?
Likely, if you attend public school nowadays, you can take your same-sex date, and you can wear what you’d like.
Unless you are Constance McMillen and live in the small town of Fulton, Miss. Last weekend, the 18-year-old senior who gained national fame for suing her school after she was told she couldn’t take her date, was sent to a fake prom.
That’s right. After the school cancelled her prom to prevent her from attending with her girlfriend, the parents got together to throw the rest of the students a prom and lied to her about where it was.
The young lesbian wasn’t the only one who got the short shrift. According to the Advocate, other attendees at the fake prom included two students with learning disabilities.
Perhaps there are other facts in the case, but it certainly seems that this is discrimination based on disabilities, a federally protected class. While gays and lesbians might not have federal protection yet, disabled Americans — including students who attend public schools — do.
The Itawamba Count School District already faced one lawsuit for canceling the prom, where the judge ruled the district had violated McMillen’s civil rights. It won’t be a surprise when the district — or the parents — faces another lawsuit.