Trans Student Nominated for Prom King Says School Won't Allow It

When transgender student Dex Frier was nominated for prom king by his fellow seniors at Johnson High School in Gainesville, Georgia, he was thrilled.

Then he was told he could only be listed as a candidate for prom queen.

Though Frier has publicly identified as male since his sophomore year of high school, his legal gender is still listed as female.

It’s likely that legality is what prompted the Hall County Schools Superintendent, Will Schofield, to reportedly insist the school take Frier’s name off the ballot for king, and tell him he could run for queen, or not run at all.

“Just because I’m not legally male I was going to get excluded from something that every guy has the opportunity to be in high school,” Frier said to BuzzFeed News. “It was really upsetting.”

Students at the school have been circulating a petition demanding Schofield allow Frier to stay on the ballot as a prom king candidate.

“The decision made by Mr. Schofield fails to reflect…core value[s] of Hall County Schools and is rather an exposition of a transphobic attitude that endangers many more than just Dex,” the petition reads, in part.

The petition has so far gathered almost 27,000 signatures. A petition aiming to keep Frier off the ballot current has 46 signatures.

In response to the latter, Frier said: “I am a man like any other going to our school and if you can’t stand the thought of a transgender man beating you for a meaningless title at a high school dance,  you should probably not be running yourself.”