Transgender teen Andy Moreno has been fighting for the right to run for Homecoming Queen at her Dallas High School, after she was blocked by the High School Administration despite popular support for her among students. On October 14, school group Queer LiberAction organized a protest, which drew several hundred students, many of whom were clear in their support and their understanding of the issue. One student said to a local news crew “…the principal wants her to run as a King, but she identifies as a woman, not as a man. And that is actually just degrading to her.”
Andy was interviewed last week on the local Fox news station and said, “I do feel like I’m being harassed, and I feel like I am being discriminated against, I feel like the Principal is embarrassed to have a transgender Queen.”
The Dallas Voice reported:
“She said it bothers her that so many LGBT teens feel they are alone.
“You should stand up for what is right even if you are standing alone … because you are not alone,” she said. In the two days of voting a number of students cast their ballots for Moreno on the first day. On the second day, an assistant principal reportedly handed ballots back to students who had voted for her and were told to vote for someone else.
“I was getting a lot of the votes,” Moreno said.
She thinks if voting were allowed to proceed without interference, she would have placed in the top three to become a finalist — and she believes she would have won.
Moreno said that throughout her school career, she had never been bullied. She chose to attend North Dallas High School because of its reputation for zero tolerance of bullying, and Moreno commutes to Uptown each day from Pleasant Grove.
While she won’t be homecoming queen, Moreno’s looking forward to going to the homecoming dance on Saturday, Oct. 16, and seeing her friend Ruby crowned homecoming king.
But the message she said she hopes other LGBT students get is to be themselves and that they are not alone.”
This moving story of support and courage from Andy and her allies, is just another example of the struggle that so many transgender people have to go through simply to be recognized as their chosen and true gender by others. Thank you Andy! And thank you LGBTQ allies!
check this link as well for coverage from the protest in support of Andy at her school.
Dallas Voice TV