Lane Tech High School is one of the largest schools in the state of Illinois. It also happens to be my alma mater. I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time in high school and have made some lifelong friends (including the co-founder of Real Talk, Mariam, and fellow author Camelia). Lane Tech is in the news because the student body elected a lesbian student as their Prom King at this year’s senior prom.
Ola Wolan didn’t want to run as prom queen. She opted to run as prom king instead.
Wolan states:
“Honestly, I don’t fit the gender stereotypes of a girl and I’m not trans[gender]; I know who I am and wouldn’t feel comfortable winning ‘Queen’ and then having to dance with a boy. So I just thought, why not break gender expectations and stereotypes and run for ‘King.’”
Wolan decided to run for Prom King and another gay student planned to run for Prom Queen. The other student failed to be elected as Prom Queen. Wolan was voted Prom King. She danced with her girlfriend and the Prom Queen danced with her date.
Wolan states:
“I think that night shows how far things have changed, how the movement has progressed and how incredibly accepting my generation is going to be. I think this school is the very epitome of diversity, acceptance and love; I think that’s remarkable.”
I will be very honest in saying that after I first read this article I thought Wolan shouldn’t have won Prom King. I thought so because to me this isn’t a question as to equal rights and gay marriage. A king is a male and a queen is a female. Since Wolan did not consider herself transgender and still identified herself as female I thought she shouldn’t have been allowed to run as Prom King.
Before you rush to judgment let me unequivocally state that I am not one of those people who thinks that because she won, “straight” students will now “become” gay. I don’t think it works that way. That line of thinking is simply outdated and untrue. Again when I first thought of the issue I thought of it purely from the standpoint of what a King and Queen is in general.
But, I have to say that I have since come to applaud her election and candidacy. Especially, in light of today’s Supreme Court ruling which declared the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. I thought to myself, this is PROM King and Queen. It’s just a title. It’s not like they are heirs to an actual throne.
Furthermore, the school allowed her to run. And most importantly the student body, her peers, elected her the victor. If the student body didn’t want to elect a gay student then they had the opportunity to do so. I also think Wolan is correct in assessing the school as the “epitome of diversity, acceptance and love.” I never once saw any acts of discrimination or hateful crimes upon students. At Lane Tech there really is a place for everyone. That’s one of the reasons the school is so special. Hopefully Wolan’s actions will inspire other students to be who they want to be. I am proud that my alma mater is on the forefront of history.
What do you think?
If you don’t agree, then please ask yourself why electing a lesbian Prom King affects your life in any manner? To me this is a different discussion than the prevalent gay marriage debate.
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Twitter: @adrakontaidis & @talkrealdebate
