Girlfriends Cecilia McBride and Story Dornsife were thrilled to be nominated for homecoming court by their Austin High School classmates. However, when McBride asked to be considered for Homecoming King so, if they won, the couple could walk together, the fairytale quickly came crashing down.
The high school staff informed McBride that both girls would both have to run for homecoming queen and would be paired with the boy named homecoming king.
"They said, ‘We don’t do two queens, we don’t do two kings, it has to be a king and a queen,’" McBride told KXAN. "Because a king has to be male and a queen has to be female, it’s impossible for a gay couple to win."
"I basically told them right away, this isn’t okay. I was almost in tears—I was furious."
McBride and Dornsife, along with another lesbian couple nominated for homecoming court, decided to talk to Principal Amy Taylor about making the tradition more inclusive—and she listened.
Forget kings, queens, princes, and princesses. The four students who get the most votes form the student body will now simply be the "Homecoming Royalty."
Austin's LGBTQ community is cheering the new policy. Kathryn Gonzalez, the operations and programs director for Out Youth, thinks it's an inclusive move for gay youth.
"To take a step back and evaluate a policy like this and then to change it, to accommodate where we're at now, is the right move. I think everyone deserves an equal experience."
