(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Kansas City trans homecoming queen stands proud and defiant amid tsunami of hatred from the right [1] [] Date: 2023-09-28 Tristan Young wept tears of joy on the night of Sept. 15 when it was announced at halftime of a football game that her classmates at Oak Park High School in Kansas City, Missouri, had elected the 17-year-old transgender senior to be their homecoming queen. She described her emotions to The Kansas City Star about that triumphant night in her young life: “I was so overwhelmed, I thought I was never going to be in this position. And, in that moment, I had tears welling in my eyes because I just felt so supported. And I just felt like, this school wants me to be who I am, and not who other people want me to be.” RELATED STORY: Hating on trans youth is a core Republican presidential primary issue Young competed for the title against four other students. She acknowledged them in an Instagram post, NBC News reported. “Tonight I stood on a field with four other amazing women, who are just as deserving of this honor as I am. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience with these women.” Both Oak Park High School and North Kansas City Schools posted congratulatory messages on X, formerly known as Twitter, and made no mention of Young’s gender identity. x Congratulations to @Northmen_OPHS Homecoming Queen Tristan Young! 🥳👑 pic.twitter.com/5qP9DKEfPR — NKC Schools (@NKCSchools) September 16, 2023 x Our queen. Happy HoCo! pic.twitter.com/adkJqENM2h — Oak Park High School (@Northmen_OPHS) September 16, 2023 But the next day, X, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms were deluged with hate-filled messages from around the country directed at the teenager. Young told the Star that she had no idea how the world came to know that she is trans, especially since most of the messages came from outside the Kansas City area and none at all from her classmates. She said her 20-year-old sister, Francesca, Oak Park’s 2020 homecoming queen, called from Boston to check whether she was all right. Young told the newspaper that the comment that stuck with her the most “was that I should have been dragged off the field by my hair and beaten up.” The outpouring of hatred led the school district to turn off the comments on its social media announcement of Tristan’s homecoming queen win, according to the Star. Young switched her Instagram page to private. Extra security was ordered for the homecoming dance. But Young attended the homecoming dance, which she described as “fantastic.” Her classmates asked her about the negative comments. She told them, “I don’t want to think about that right now. I’m at my senior homecoming.” She said the hatred shown toward her stung at first and was dehumanizing. But she stood proud and defiant rather than hide. And she spoke out in the local media. The Kansas City Star quoted her as saying: “I like to stay strong. I don’t really buckle unless something is really wrong. Right now, what’s happening is people are trying to turn a joyous thing into something that I should regret. But it’s going to stay a joyous thing.” Some comments referenced religion. “Well,” Tristan said, “in the Bible, Jesus says ‘Love thy neighbor.’ Love everyone as they are. This is who I am. … I’m proud of who I am. You can tear me down all you want. I’m not going to give back the crown.” x “I’m proud of who I am. … I’m not going to give back the crown,” said Tristan Young, a Kansas City transgender student recently named homecoming queen. https://t.co/83kfcm4H6r — The Kansas City Star (@KCStar) September 25, 2023 And she told the local station KCTV5: “It was surreal to see the hate I was getting, but also the support I was getting. I saw comments from people at school who I’d never even talked to saying all these nice things about me. Then I have people that are hating on me saying, ‘Oh, she has a big nose,’ or, ‘Oh, that’s a man, or, ‘Oh, you stole that from a woman.’ But that gets repetitive because they don’t really know anything about me.” Young also had a supportive role model, namely Landon Patterson, a transgender woman who was crowned Oak Park’s homecoming queen in 2015. Patterson told KCTV: “It just felt good, that reassuring feeling, everything that I went through in 2015, it wasn’t for nothing. It makes me happy to see, even though there’s a lot of hate still, her family is there for her, her students are there for her, and love always beats out the hate.” Patterson visited her old school on homecoming day to show her support for Young. She posted this message on her Facebook page: x But eight years ago, Patterson did not face the same degree of hatred—particularly on social media—as Young has had to endure. Patterson’s story was featured in such outlets as Teen Vogue, BuzzFeed, and Seventeen, without mention of any hateful response. There was a small protest outside the school by members of the Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, a fringe family-based cult of personality whose slogan was “God Hates F—GS.” (The group even picketed the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, claiming God is punishing America for being nice to gays and lesbians.) They were met outside Oak Park High School by hundreds of counterprotesters—including students, parents, and members of local churches—prompting them to quickly get in their van and leave. But many of the stories about Young emphasize how she has stood up against the tidal wave of hate directed toward her. And then you have right-wing Breitbart News, which headlined a story: “Missouri high school crowns male as homecoming queen.” It’s a reflection of the poison of hatred the MAGA infection has spread through the Republican ranks. LGBTQ+ people—and especially transgender men and women—have been targeted to stir up the party’s base with a message of fear. It’s so hypocritical that these so-called “protectors of children” have been bullying and trying to ruin the life of a teenager. Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and right-wing commentator who has campaigned against trans athletes in women’s sports, posted this message on X to her followers: “Another reminder to all girls that men make the best women. I wonder if a female will win homecoming king or if it’s understood that both of these spots are reserved for males. Who’s to blame here?” x So stunning & brave🤴🏻✨ Another reminder to all girls that men make the best women. I wonder if a female will win homecoming king or if it's understood that both of these spots are reserved for males. Who's to blame here? pic.twitter.com/ZXHU6Wyiiy — Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) September 18, 2023 And Chaya Raichik, who operates the anti-LGBTQ+ “Libs of TikTok” account on X, cruelly mocked Young’s appearance in a dehumanizing post: “One of these people is a male with an adam’s apple who won homecoming queen in @NKCSchools and 4 others are young girls who had their dreams crushed by a man. Can you guess which one is a male?” x One of these people is a male with an adam’s apple who won homecoming queen in @NKCSchools and 4 others are young girls who had their dreams crushed by a man. Can you guess which one is a male? https://t.co/qLFRVKj2Is pic.twitter.com/Emu4oYh7Lu — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 18, 2023 An article on Libs of TikTok’s Substack began by criticizing Young’s victory: “Oak Park High School just got sent a message loud and clear: boys are just better at things than girls are. Even at being a girl.” The Advocate reported of the inflammatory article: To bolster her position, Raichik quoted anonymous parents expressing strong disapproval of the school’s decision. One parent was quoted saying, “I’m appalled by NKC Schools’ continued support of the LGBT agenda. … Having two homecoming “queens” that are boys is a disgrace to the NKC Schools community.” Another supposedly lamented, “As a woman, it breaks my heart to see these girls get passed over and a man stealing what is rightfully theirs.” A spokesperson for North Kansas City Schools told KCTV5: “Homecoming courts are determined by student vote. This process allows students to nominate and place their vote behind who they believe is the best representative for their class. Our students voted for this year’s King and Queen. The role of the school and/or district is to honor students’ voice and decision.” Young told the Star that despite all the hatred she’s faced, it’s been “really gratifying” to see the “even greater outpouring of kindness” sent her way. Justice Horn, the chair of the Kansas City LGBTQ Commission, congratulated Young in a post on X: “I uplift this against the transphobic comments against this young person who was named queen by their peers. I’m thankful the next generation of Kansas City is so kind.” x I want to pause and congratulate Tristan for being crowned Oak Park High School’s Homecoming Queen! 👑 I uplift this against the transphobic comments against this young person who was named queen by their peers. I’m thankful the next generation of Kansas City is so kind. 💓 https://t.co/MDpsuQJ14T — Justice Horn (@JusticeHorn_) September 19, 2023 And a recent graduate of Oak Park, who identified himself as Morrisonian on X, defended her against the critics. He wrote: “Oak Park High School was my Alma Mater. Tristan Young was my friend. I can tell you from experience that Tristan Young wasn't indoctrinated by a narrative. She was the nicest person I've ever had the pleasure of performing with. You have no idea what the f--k you're talking about.” After her win, Young posted a note on her Instagram account, thanking her classmates, the Star reported. She also said, “I have had a very difficult high school journey, but having the support of my friends, family and oak park has helped tremendously, I truly don’t know where I would be without it.” The newspaper said Young was referring to the tragic death of her father, a police sergeant, who was killed in January 2020 by a driver of a pickup truck in a head-on crash. But Young also told the Star that she knew from the age of four that she felt “fundamentally different from the physical appearance she presented,” and wished she was a girl as she grew up. She said she realized that she was a transgender woman In April 2022, and began her transition. And she said she’s not going to waste her time fighting back against the haters because she’s not going to change anyone’s mind. The newspaper quoted her as saying: “I want to make my memories of being homecoming queen happy. And they’re going to be happy. I’m forever going to remember that moment on the field, where I’m standing with people I love the most, and they call my name. And there was a roar. That’s what I’m going to think about years later. I’m not going to think about all this backlash I got. Because that doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me are the people that support me.” Kansas City, unlike the rest of the state of Missouri, voted in May to declare the city a sanctuary for people seeking gender-affirming care, reported the Associated Press. This defied state lawmakers who wanted to ban such care. Similar actions have happened in other Democratic-leaning cities in red states, such as Austin, Texas. “Democratic Mayor Quinton Lucas praised the 12 to 1 vote, saying the city is committed to being a ‘welcoming, inclusive, and safe place for everyone, including our transgender and LGBTQ+ community.’” [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/28/2195627/-Kansas-City-trans-homecoming-queen-stands-proud-and-defiant-amid-tsunami-of-hatred-from-the-right Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/