 Would you go with me?
Ah, the prom. "There are few points in the U.S. culture that represent any rite of passage better than prom," Spaz Gladney, a college student at Coastal Carolina University and Assistant Youth Director at Rainbow Beach, shared with me this weekend.
I remember my days of youth, dreaming of Jake Ryan (the hottie in "Sixteen Candles" for those of you too young to remember). Just like Samantha Baker, played by Molly Ringwald, gay boys and straight girls everywhere wanted Jake, played by Michael Schoeffling, to choose them for that all important high school dance. But, we never got the chance.
The newer generation of gay boys got a glimpse of a real fantasy come true on the boob tube. Remember when Justin and Bryan danced the night away during the finale of season one on "Queer As Folk?" Gladney expresses a bit of jealousy toward Justin when seeing his own fantasy play out on the small screen. However, we can't forget that all too real moment following that bit of bliss, when Justin was bashed in the head by a bat-wielding fellow classmate in the parking lot. Whoa. Reality-check.
For most LGBT and questioning youth - this is the fear that still exists in our youth culture. In all honesty, kids can be mean, especially when raised in a society that has been hateful to one single group of people for so many years.
I had a chance to speak with Gladney and other members of Rainbow Beach, the LGBT youth group at The Center Project in Myrtle Beach, recently to get their thoughts on the upcoming gay prom to be held on Saturday at TCP. Challissah Mills is a 17-year-old Pee Dee area high school student who is looking forward to simply "having a good time and not caring whose going to talk about (her) the next day at school." To her, gay prom means a lot, because it's a prom that everyone can go to. Mills attempted to take a girl to her Sweetheart Dance at school and was turned away by school faculty. The proud teenager has dealt with ridicule from faculty and fellow students as well as her family. To her, gay prom is relief. It's a night where she can be herself, have fun and enjoy what may be the most important night for any high school student. On Saturday, she'll be taking the date that was turned away at her school's dance.
Another girl, who preferred to remain anonymous, is 20-years-old and is looking forward to experiencing prom again. "I wish that this would have happened when I was still in school. There are kids who sit at home the night their schools have their prom because they feel too uncomfortable to go. This is their chance. Hopefully it will open some people's eyes that LGBT youth are no different than straight youth and deserve to experience the same things throughout life."
Just last month in Scottsboro, Ala. Lauren Martin, 16, and Chelsea Overstreet, 17, were told by the Scottsboro High School administration that they could not go to the prom as a couple. With the help of attorney Parker Edmiston, they went to court. Just hours before the big dance, Circuit Judge John Graham of Stevenson, Ala. issued an order prohibiting the school from barring the teens, citing the 1984 Federal Equal Access Act, which has successfully been used to fight on behalf of LGBT student groups.
It will likely be years before students everywhere feel comfortable and safe enough to pick the prom date they really want. Until then, its nice to see events like the one this Saturday at TCP which give those students a chance at that magical night. "Emotionally, this prom fulfills a dream I've had for myself and others - a moment of our own when we really can have what everyone else already does," says Gladney.
Rainbow Beach's inaugural Gay Prom will take place from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. Saturday at TCP, located at 307 Highway 15, Myrtle Beach. For more information visit www.myspace.com/rainbow_beach or email youth@thecenterproject.com.
OUT & ABOUT
Friday, May 16 - South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Business Guild will host its annual awards gala at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Columbia, featuring Anthony Kalloniatis, familiarly known as Ant. There will be a networking reception from 6 - 7 p.m. followed by dinner. Tickets for SCGLBG Members are $60 and for non-members are $75. For more information go to www.scglbg.org.
Until next week, have fun and be safe.
-Chris Rudisill, Weekly Surge |
