Lesbian Teen Wins Prom Equality

Many gays and lesbians feel understandably frustrated right now. The U.S. military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy has yet to be repealed. And over the last 13 months, voters have approved gay marriage bans in Arizona, California, Florida and Maine. 

But amid these setbacks are signs that greater activism has paid off. Take the case of Cynthia Stewart, a teenager in northwest Alabama. The 17-year-old junior at Tharptown High School is blazing her own civil rights trail through some pretty tall weeds.

In September, Cynthia asked the school for permission to bring her date to the prom, which is scheduled for March 25. Tharptown’s principal declared instead that the school would have no prom at all. Why? Because Cynthia’s proposed date was another girl.

Tharptown screens all potential prom dates living outside the school’s attendance district. Cynthia’s girlfriend falls in that category. Hank Sherrod, a local attorney helping Cynthia, says this screening is used to keep out troublemakers and people with documented behavioral problems. Cynthia’s girlfriend does not fall into that category.

So school officials faced a choice. They could allow a lesbian couple to come dance and party with everyone else. Or, they could shut down the prom. They opted to shut down the prom.

Cynthia’s family petitioned the Franklin County school board to rethink its policy and called the American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU lawyers reminded the board that federal law prohibits this kind of discrimination. The week of Nov. 9-13, board members overturned the previous decision and let the prom go forward.

That matter appears to be close to resolution. But Cynthia and Franklin County schools have at least one more issue to thrash out. Cynthia and some friends also wore stickers to school that read, “I’m a Lesbian.” The principal told Cynthia to remove her sticker. She reminded him of her First Amendment right to wear it. According to Cynthia, the principal replied, “You don’t have that much freedom of speech at school.” (District officials did not return phone calls asking for comment.)

Being openly gay in high school has never been easy. One 2005 study found that 75 percent of gay students report being verbally abused at school, and more than a third say they are physically harassed. Teaching Tolerance provides resources for teachers to help gay students through this tough time (Why We Need a GSA [2] and 5 Steps to Safer Schools [3]).

Cynthia says that she faced some name-calling and ostracism when she first came out in sixth grade. But since then, the students at her schools have been very accepting. “This is the only problem with anything about being gay that I’ve had,” she says. Cynthia hopes that her struggle this year will prevent a repeat of these issues in the future. “I’m trying to help other people [in this situation],” she says. “It’s not just about me.”