[Trigger warning for transphobia.]
The bad news is that Oakleigh Reed, aka Oak, a transgender honors student at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon, Michigan, has been stripped of his Homecoming King title because school records still identify him as female.
The good news is that he won in the first place, his fellow students are rallying to his defense, his friends have started a Facebook page titled "Oak is My King," his mom is awesome, his teachers support and respect him even if the school administration doesn't, and the ACLU may champion his case. And the article about the whole thing is pretty damn good, to boot.
It's always shitty to have to post something about someone being denied some basic bit of equality, even something as "meaningless" as a homecoming title. (The fact that someone is being denied the title shows how not meaningless it really is, when it can still be used as a weapon of marginalization.) But damn if doesn't make me a wee bit blubby that the administration's fuckery seems to be getting the most support from transphobic internet trolls who don't even live in the state and bravely hide behind anonymous IDs.
The people who matter are (mostly) standing up for Oak.
[H/Ts to Shakers PeggySue and KathleenB.]
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