Intersections

I'm sure many of you have heard about Constance McMillen and the blatant violation of her human rights on behalf of her high school. But just in case, she is the high school student who requested to take her girlfriend to prom. In response, the administration decided to cancel prom entirely. Of course this pitted the entire class against Constance, when the real anger should have been aimed at the homophobic actions of those in charge.

In a more recent update, Constance was duped into going to a fake prom while the real prom took place across town. This was orchestrated at various levels including students AND parents. This is just an awful testament the complete lack of humanity some people are capable of exhibiting, however there is a piece to this puzzle that has been overlooked. There were other invites to the fake prom, including two developmentally disabled students. What originally started off as a story focused mainly around gay issues has become a revealing intersection of ableism and heterosexism.

Constance was not welcomed to the prom because she was viewed as something laughable, deviant, and wrong. What then was the reasoning for lying to the other students? What message does this send to youth across America? The answer is simple: "Difference" will not be tolerated. If this example isn't proof that marginalized groups need to come together to fight against prejudice, I don't know what is. I now see that there is no age limit on bullying. SHAME on all those involved in this awful event and SHAME on anyone who thinks this type of behavior acceptable.