My son's high school class elected a lesbian Prom Queen Saturday.

[redwitch]

Pretty awesome. She received a rousing ovation as she made her way to her "throne" in her crewcut and white tux and took her seat next to the captain of the baseball team. My little town has some pretty wonderful people in it. I was especially happy to hear her family whoop it up for her and hear her mom scream "That's my little girl!". :-)

[marmar]

1. Gens X and younger are socially in a much different place......

..... We grew up watching Pedro Zamora and his boyfriend Sean intimate on the Real World. The mentality is very different.
The country and the planet may be in an economic and climatological meltdown, but human relations should improve, if nothing else, when the Xers/Yers/Millenials assume the reigns.

[redwitch]

2. I hope you are right.

This 51 year old will be cheering you on all the way!

[Warpy]

15. We old boomers applaud you

because we were the ones who blasted it all wide open, which is why the family values hypocrites have been fighting us every way they can since then.

Before we came along, anything of a sexual nature was whispered furtively and with great shame that it had to be mentioned at all. We let it all hang out, literally and figuratively, and the moralists have never forgiven us for it.

We gladly pass that torch to a new generation. Shine it into all those dark corners and expose the hypocrites for who they really are and maybe we'll have a chance to grow up as a culture.

[JDPriestly]

20. You are so right.

It all started in the '60s -- that era that shall not be named.

[Just ShootMe]

24. Acknowledgment of wrongs long over due and some vigilance.

Yes, Warpy (dare I shorten that to 'W') and JD. Thanks for pointing out the pains and gains of one generation which benefit those who follow every bit as much as any soldier who ever died on a battle field. And we, too, must look backward to the equally hard fought baby steps of our predecessors.
I've often yearned for a memorial to the victims of the 'silent' holocaust, as a healing validation for those who still breathe, or their loved ones, and as a reminder, for all, to not allow the progress that's been made to slip away at the hands of future political opportunism. Remember, in pre-Nazi Germany there was a light of optimism about changing mores and a feeling by many intellectuals and homosexual persons that the progress was irreversible.

[redwitch]

3. shamelessly kicking my own thread.

:-) An inspirational Monday morning thread! Also, I ran into her sister yesterday at the tux rental place. She said her family is really happy and glad the world is changing. We both agreed that we love our little town. :-)

[nichomachus]

4. Things are changing rapidly and

politicians ignore this at their peril. This isn't the same country it was in 2004 even -- never mind 2000.

[hendo]

5. good to hear

but what on earth was her mom doing at her prom? Since when is prom for parents?

[redwitch]

6. The coronation is before the prom at the high school.

Then the kids leave for the prom and the families go out to dinner. Or at least ours did. :-)

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

10. Whew! Good! Parents at a prom? The Horror!!!

:rofl:

[redwitch]

14. My son went to the after prom party put on by the parents.

I was allowed to decorate for it, set it up, help plan it, clean up after it. But I was not to show my face DURING it. :-)

[Doityourself]

7. One word: Progress!

GOOD.

[progressoid]

8. Very Nice.

Come mothers and fathers all over this land
And don't criticize what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughter are beyond your command
Your old role is rapidly aging
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand
For the times they are a changing...

[NV Whino]

9. A kick for some good news!

[roguevalley]

11. your son's high school is cool. this makes me feel hopeful.

[no_hypocrisy]

12. That is SO cool!!!

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. Wow! How cool is that?

[Dogtown]

16. foto, pls!

that's a wonderful story.

fine group of young people!

[redwitch]

21. We didn't get any at the Coronation, alas.

We got some in the park beforehand but missed many of the kids including her and her gorgeous date! So many people to talk to and total confusion too! Such fun though. If I can get a pic from someone else I will ask hubby to post it, I am clueless about the photobucket thing. :blush:

[fight4my3sons]

17. that's awesome!

Are you anywhere near Dutchess County? That's where I grew up when I was with my dad. You can PM me or you don't have to answer at all if you don't want to put where you are, if I'm being too nosey :)

[noonwitch]

18. And I thought it was a big deal when my sister's class elected a fat girl!

Seriously, that is good progress.

But I was surprised, considering the previous years in my memory, the homecoming/prom queens were always skinny, cheerleader types.

[redwitch]

25. It WAS a big deal.

When people express their affection for someone who isn't picture perfect or "traditional" it says they see the actual whole person and not just their outside. And that is pretty damned great!

[NeedleCast]

19. Prejudice is starting to die

It's a slow, lingering death and there will always be some folk who choose to cling to the false ideology that anyone different from them is bad.

Change comes slow, but at least it's coming.

[Just ShootMe]

22. Have room for a political refugee from the South?

It's my goal to escape the cognitively deficient South. I've tried, honestly, to make a difference, but find even the so called 'progressive' population here (few that it is) to be apathetic, misguided, self centered or intellectually stunted. And lest you think I'm a disgruntled Yankee interloper . . . Not. I'm ninth generation Georgian, once so bullish on my home as to be considered a bit smug when comparisons were discussed.
Kudos for your community, even though it's 2008, not 1978, and not likely representative of the majority sentiment in your state (I hope I'm wrong there). I mean, even Connecticut (one might think a bastion of higher intellect in America) reelected Joe Lieberman as their Senator; a man who, as late as 1994, voted 'yes' to withhold federal dollars from any school system which dared to counsel distressed youths with positive affirmation of their naturally given sexual identities, i.e. "it's okay to be gay!" Vote on Amdt. 2434 Senate Bill 1513
The prom queen of today, could have been a suicide in the times of my youth, and many were.

[redwitch]

23. Plenty of room, c'mon up!

Her support system at home and the love of her fellow classmates will help her weather many a storm as she works towards helping the rest of the population catch up.

This coming on the heels of the California Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage makes me feel very hopeful.

Hubby took a great photo at a Gay rights march Manhattan 1970's. Picture of a mom marching with a big sign that reads, "My son is gay and that's OK". :-)