10 LGBT Prom Controversies from Around the US

The fact that any of these became national "controversies" is absolutely ridiculous, and it's outright discrimination. From the heart-breaking, to the inspiring, these are ten LGBT prom controversies that made national headlines. These were people trying to live their lives, and it made national headlines. These LGBT prom controversies tell the tales of students all around the United States who stood up against their high school administrators to demand equal rights at the American high school tradition known as Prom. Though not all were successful in their fight, each brought progress and positive awareness to the LGBT community they were representing, while facing some kind of hardship.

Certainly a topic discussed each spring as high school students purchase expensive prom dresses, rent tuxedos and get all prettied up for their proms, the argument between LGBT students seeking to bring their same-sex partner to prom and the high school officials who seek to denied that access has been going on for decades. One of the first cases happened well before current high school seniors and juniors were even born.

In 1980, a legal precedent was set in Rhode Island when Fricke v. Lynch ruled that gay student Aaron Fricke was be allowed to bring his boyfriend to prom against the desires of Cumberland High School Principal Richard Lynch. Attend they did but that ruling surely didn't stop many other schools from trying the same thing decades later.

Perhaps the most-publicized incident came in 2010 when the Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Mississippi canceled prom completely after losing a bid to deny lesbian student Constance McMillen from wearing a tux to the dance. It got worse when parents scheduled two other proms, one for only the "normal" kids and a second for McMillen and those unwanted. McMillen may not have attended the big prom but won in the end when she settled out of court with the school district and gained the attention of the world with her fight.

Each of these students served as positive representatives of the LGBT community when they stood up for what they believed in, even when their position wasn't shared by educators and other parents. And for all the bad press that came from these incidents, there have been just as many positive outcomes with legal precedents, non-profit organizations and LGBT awareness all resulting from the efforts of these brave students. That sure beats ugly prom dresses and cheesy prom themes any day.