Wanda Sykes invites lesbian teenager Constance McMillen to the GLAAD awards
With the ACLU's help, Constance McMillen challenged her heteronormative, homophobic school officials and demanded her rights, but due to the administration's failure to change their discriminatory same-sex policy, the prom was canceled altogether.
Though inadvertently getting the prom canceled in high school is like social suicide, McMillen is definitely the last one laughing, because out comedienne Wanda Sykes chose her as the presenter of the Stephen F. Kolzak award to honoree Sykes at the GLAAD Media Awards in LA on April 17th. Take that, old-fashioned school officials!
Sykes surprised the teenager via satellite on her Saturday
night talk show, after discussing the reactions of the student body and
her family's unconditional support. As for the awards show, Sykes told
McMillen to "get her tux cleaned" — as long as it wasn't an ugly powder
blue ruffly one — and bring her girlfriend, too.
It's disheartening to see instance after instance of discrimination and even violence against same-sex dates in schools across the country. As if high school isn't awkward enough with backne and head gear, throw being a little queer teen into the mix and you're toast. Luckily, out celebrities in the media, like Sykes, help to draw national attention to such injustices and assert their intolerance for homophobic double-standards in our society.
Check out the video of Constance on The Wanda Sykes Show.
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That's nice :)
o.o You got it alllll wrong.
Constance didn't WANT the prom to be cancelled just because she couldn't go in a tux with her girlfriend. o.o That happened because she got the ACLU to try to help her but the school cancelled it because of her just to make her look bad. They tried to settle it out of the public's eye but the school overreacted.
Get your facts right before you go around saying that some queer teen WANTED to be a buzzkill and ruin the prom for everyone.
And his was a dying breed. Courage came only from symphonies. -Meg & Dia "Courage, Robert"
Thesaurus: Sounds like a dinosaur but more helpful in helping you write.
You're right, but...
You're right, she didn't want the prom to be canceled. Perhaps my wording was misleading, which I apologize for, but it does not say that she "wanted" the prom to be canceled, just with the ACLU's help in suing, the prom got canceled. My apologies for the misleading wording! And thanks for the catch :)
Your words are quite misleading...
Thanks!
Batwoman's GLAAD Award
As if high school isn't awkward enough with backne and head gear
Indeed. Who among us hasn't suffered under the scourge of backne and head gear?
Incidentally, I'm really surprised Batwoman winning a GLAAD award hasn't been mentioned here yet, particularly since AfterElton covered it yesterday:
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/03/detective-comics-wins-glaad-media-award/
Batwoman!
Whoops!
So you did. How did I miss that?
And, yeah, Batwoman really is revolutionary. The first regular gay characters in mainstream superhero comics were occasional members of a hero's supporting cast. These were followed by the first gay superheroes, who were mostly minor characters. The next step - from a company pov - was obviously gay superheroes who were more prominent, but I wasn't expecting a gay superhero wearing one of DC's big two franchise emblems - the bat and the S-shield - this soon. I was betting on a Green Lantern, and probably one of the aliens at that. To put the bat on a lesbian superhero and then to give her her own comic was a really, really big step. Everyone in America knows the bat-symbol and it's tied to what is currently DC's most successful film franchise, so mucho kudos to them. A Batwoman movie would probably be considered too risky for now, but we may soon be at the point where they might risk having her appear in a Batman movie. Which brings up the question of who should play her, of course....
sad.. but :) at the end
I just can't believe they would just flat out cancel the freaking prom. It's stupid, as if seeing a girl in a tux with her gf would hurt others, I bet it was the other parents who made a fit. But thanks to their stupid over the top reaction, they have made a girl into a demi-celebrity. Good for her for standing up to what she believes, and HOW lucky she is to have a supportive family. Very admirable.
"Were I receptive to such proposition, it would first require a full booty check, and if you were to pass muster, baby I'd give it to you family style"-Peggy Peabody
Yay
After the stuff she had to deal with i'm glad something like this has happened to her. Hope this makes other school boards realize that them discriminating isn't going to get them far at all. Hopefully more people are not going to put up with this and stand up for themselves just like she did.
Wanda Rocks!!!
That is SUCH a show of class! Wanda could have chosen anyone to present her award but she decided to share her spotlight moment AND makes a great statement at the same time by asking Constance.
Take THAT, Mississippi homophobes.
I want to be just like Wanda Sykes when I grow up :)
Way to go, Constance
She's doing a great job of speaking up and showing other students that they should not accept discrimination under any circumstances. Even if it's "just prom" or in a small town where the majority might be against you. She's an inspiration.
In response to the story, Autostraddle.com put together a gallery of same-sex prom date photos that are so adorable it brings a tear to your eye. Thanks to students like Constance who stand up for our rights, one day this kind of acceptance will be everywhere: http://tinyurl.com/ybdnwv4
homophobia is stupid!
Really?! I had my hair dyed
Thank goodness high school is long gone!
:D
Sykes, you rule! & I totally send positive energy support to McMillen & gf & fam.
I hope something cool come of it, like throwing their own prom where the whole student body is invited, and therefore not missing out on something they've looked foward to all year.
proud of these girls for living as they should, as out & normal as possible.. because? They ARE normal.
congratz, ladies! <3
-C-
Why is everyone on Wands
Go Mississippi!