September 14, 2015
Mo. High School Names Trans Student Homecoming Queen
EDGE READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Here's the feel-good story of the day!
A Missouri high school is making headlines after a transgender student was voted as the 2015 homecoming queen, AOL reports.
Landon Patterson (Landon is her birth name, which Patterson is conformable using for now), became Oak Park High School's first trans homecoming queen when the Kansas City school nominated her for the title on Saturday.
When Patterson spoke with local news station KCTV and said she always dreamed of riding in the parade and being crowned the title of homecoming queen but never thought her classmates would see her as a female.
"I've dreamed about it since my freshman year, but I never knew it was possible for me," she said.
She also explained that while she spent most of her life identifying as a gay male, she never felt complete.
"There's always been something so much deeper inside me. I finally realized, I am female," she said. "I feel like I'm a girl on the inside."
The senior came out as trans last year and says her new title is proof that her classmates accept her. Orie Agbaji, a homecoming nominee, lauded Patterson.
"She has so much strength that I envy. She's just beautiful and I love her," Agbaji said.
Patterson has received support from her parents. Her mother, Debbie Hall, attended the homecoming parade and sat next to her daughter.
"That's my child. You have to back your child," she told the news station. "The haters out there, I just want to say, 'What would you say if it was your child?'"
Patterson added that she hopes her story helps other people "because that's my goal."