Prom season may be over for most schools, but one high school in Danbury, Connecticut produced a prom that will be remembered around the nation as they made history by crowning their first gay male prom queen.
According to Queerty, openly gay student Nasir Fleming received a standing ovation last Friday night as he was crowned prom queen at the Dansbury High School prom.
“I was shocked to see how awesome and supportive my peers are,” Fleming told Queerty. “I received a decent amount of negative backlash, so I was surprised when I won.”
Fleming was voted prom queen by an election held by his peers and although he says that he’s “very well liked” at school he explained that he’s “not immune to criticism nor judgment” over his sexuality.
“The problem is that we’re taught to tolerate, but we need to accept everyone,” Fleming said.
Despite the adversity and homophobia he faces, Fleming credits his bravery to stand as prom queen to his “uber-supportive” family.
“I live with my uncle and he was more excited about me being crowned than I was,” he explained. “I’m very thankful to have him as a form of support. I don’t know if I would have had the opportunity to be who I am and be elected as prom queen if it wasn’t for him raising me.”
Although Fleming is not transgender, he goes on to say that he hopes his win inspires those in the trans community to embrace themselves and live openly and proudly in society.
“My main reason for wanting to win prom queen is to show the school, and hopefully the world, that if a spunky, odd gay kid can win prom queen, then anyone can! This message is mainly for transgendered people, because they seem to face so much backlash for simply being themselves. If I can win a title that is out of my gender, anyone else should be able to, including transgendered people,” Fleming said.
He continued, “Very often we conform to societal norms in order to be accepted, and it is not acceptable for us to shun a perfectly fine part of ourselves. We are the innovators of the future, we are the future and we can make a change.”
Congratulations to Fleming on his prom queen win and we hope that beyond being a graceful and inspiring queen that he continues to be a pioneer and leader for progress in the world. – nicholas robinson
