May 21, 2001

11:19 AM

Kudos to the students at Ferndale High in Washington State. Not only for breaking down some barriers, but also for being more mature than most of the adults involved with the school. And, for you readers that have not cast Salon.com into the darkest pits of your memory banks, here's their article which has a surprising, and refreshing, quote from the prom queen.
posted by donkeysuck (9 comments total)

(Actually, it's an AP story- does that make it OK?)
posted by binkin at 1:46 PM on May 21, 2001

Children that are so open minded that their brains have fallen out. Great.

A king is a male.
---
king (kng)
n.

Abbr. k., K. A male sovereign.

A queen is a female.
---
queen (kwn)
n.

Abbr. qu.
The wife or widow of a king.
A woman sovereign.

Stupid, stupid children.

It's pretty simple, and a child's proclivity for muff diving doesn't really change that one bit.
posted by Spanktacular at 6:09 PM on May 21, 2001

yeah, there's no reason she should be prom king just because she's a lesbian, she's still a girl.

though i agree with the prom queen: "It's high school. Let it go."
posted by dagnyscott at 8:26 PM on May 21, 2001

Actually, this story from the Seattle times makes it clear that the reaction in town wasn't nearly as positive as the wire story made it out to be. It was, in fact, so negative that the newly elected Prom King, Krystal Bennett, has scrapped her plans to stay in Ferndale, and now wants to move to a larger, more tolerant, city.

The story also hints, but does not say, that despite the votes from her friends, most of the votes for Krystal Bennett were intended as either jokes or harassment.

My guess is that some students in this apparently ultraconservative town were trying to make Krystal Bennett feel bad for going to prom with another girl, and didn't count on her actually wanting the job of Prom King, or on the support and votes of her friends.

..and is that guy's comment about his "switch hitter" buddy odd, or what??
posted by 23lemurs at 10:10 PM on May 21, 2001

spanky: queen has made it into some dictionaries as a male dressed as a woman. we live in an age where traditional gender roles don't necessarily hold true any longer. move with the times.
posted by titboy at 10:29 PM on May 21, 2001

titboy, nice try but you're still off. The queen nickname is a reference to the feminine qualities on display by dressing as the other gender. And is meant as a bit of a joke, a ridicule of his choice or a declaration of pride in his choice to not act stereotypically masculine.

Try again.
posted by Spanktacular at 4:05 AM on May 22, 2001

Spanktacular: This "king" was dressed as the other gender. So how is this any different?

23lemurs: Naaah. The comment about "switch-hitters" might reveal a weirdly country-fried way of talkin', but his heart's in the right place; didn't strike me as too weird.

What got to me in the article you linked was the comment from the boy who was defending his friend's remark about the "gay music" at the Prom:

"It's not derogatory," added senior Jason Guthrie. "It just means dumb, stupid." -- And that's not derogatory ... ?
posted by webmutant at 11:53 AM on May 22, 2001

Sounds like the Marshall Mathers defense "When I say f*ggot, I don't necessarily mean homosexual, I just mean someone who isn't acting masculine, who acts stupid."

Nice.
posted by Dreama at 11:58 AM on May 22, 2001

Don't let it bring you down. It's only castles burning.
posted by Twang at 3:00 PM on May 22, 2001