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Lesbian Student Prohibited From Wearing Tuxedo to Prom

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An openly gay student and top academic scholar from Louisiana, says she has been banned from wearing a tuxedo to her prom and told to wear a dress instead.

Claudetteia Love, who attends the Carroll High School in Monroe in the state, was told by the school’s principal,Patrick Taylor, that she would not be allowed to wear a suit to the upcoming event.

The student – who is at the top of her class and has already earned a scholarship to a top university – said she was upset that he would block her from expressing herself.

She told the News-Star:

I told my mum, ‘They’re using me. They put me in all these honours and advanced placement classes so I can take all of these tests and get good grades and better the school, but when it’s time for me to celebrate the fact that I’ve accomplished what I need to accomplish and I’m about to graduate, they don’t want to let me do it, the way I want to.”

Ms Love’s mother, Geraldine Jackson, also said:

He said that the faculty that is working the prom told him they weren’t going to work the prom if (girls) were going to wear tuxes. That’s his exact words. ‘Girls wear dresses and boys wear tuxes, and that’s the way it is’.”

Love’s sister, Mignon, said she’s overheard faculty talking about the prom rule.

It’s not about how they dress. They’re judging them. They are at school talking about being gay is a sin. Everybody sins. The only person who can judge is God; you can’t judge them.”

Love hadn’t intended to take a date to the prom but wanted to attend with a group of friends who have also now chosen not to attend because of the no-tux rule. She says a petition by members of the senior class to change the rule wasn’t acted on by faculty.

According to Jackson, her daughter’s overall mood has changed since she found out she wouldn’t be allowed to attend the prom dressed as she chose, but Love has resolved to use her experience to make a difference for others.

She said:

There are other girls in lower grades than me, and I want for them when they come up to not to have to feel like they aren’t accepted. I don’t want them to feel like they are less of a person because people don’t accept them. There are people in the world that won’t accept you but they don’t have to be so judgmental and make you feel like you’re less of a person and that you shouldn’t express yourself.”

The principal, said the decision was just enforcing a dress code that applies to all students and not about discrimination.

However, Mr Taylor’s views are not shared. The president of the Monroe City School Board, Rodney McFarland, has condemned the school’s principal.

As school board president, I don’t agree with Carroll banning her from her prom just because of what she wants to wear — that’s discrimination. As far as I know there is no Monroe City School Board policy saying what someone has to wear to attend the prom. You can’t just go making up policies.”

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2 thoughts on “Lesbian Student Prohibited From Wearing Tuxedo to Prom

  1. Pingback: 'Be Yourself At Prom' Campaign Aims To Give Teens A Chance To Express Their Gender However They Want | KitschMix

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