Andy Moreno was born a male but has identified herself as female for the past year. She looks and acts like a girl.
She said that has never caused any problems for her at school.
However, her nomination for homecoming queen has caused some controversy.
"I don't have anyone that doesn't want me to run, the only people that have a problem with it is the administration," she said. "I was told by one of the counselors that I should prepare myself because a lot of the administration has a problem with me running."
Moreno immediately spoke to the principal for support with the nomination. The principal told her she should run for king instead of homecoming queen.
"Which I don't feel comfortable with because I identify myself as a woman and not as a male, and a king is a male," she said.
Friends are supporting her. Other students said they were not bothered by the idea of Moreno becoming homecoming queen.
"I don't think it is fair because there is no rule in the book that says a male cannot do anything like that," said Ignacio Ortega.
That's true. The Dallas Independent School District said there is no policy on the matter. Instead the decision is left to the principal.
North Dallas High School administrators would not comment.
"The district fully supports the decision of the principal at North Dallas High School. It should be noted that the Dallas Independent School District is proud to have one of the most aggressive anti-harassment policies among school districts in the state of Texas," DISD said in a statement.
The ACLU has expressed interest in the case, reported a Sept. 27 follow-up story at WOOD-8, and the teen said that he would be open to the idea. "I’d be willing to talk to them," Oak told the news channel.
The case "raises some concern about how the school has chosen to treat people based on gender," said lawyer Jay Kaplan, who is with the organization’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Legal Project. "Hopefully, they’ll reconsider the action that they’ve taken," Kaplan said of the school.
But the school’s principal, Jennifer Bustard, reaffirmed the school’s stance. "In order to be eligible for homecoming king, the ballot clearly states you must be a boy," Bustard told WOOD-8. "For homecoming queen, you must be a girl." Added Bustard, "He--as I use the pronoun correctly out of respect--is not a boy."
A Facebook page supporting Oak says that the teenager received a majority of votes for Homecoming King, but Bustard denied this, saying that votes for Oak were not counted once the administration realized who was running. Text at the page also says that in disqualifying Oak, the school "promoted transphobia."
Bustard sees the issue differently. "The school must be consistent when it comes to gender," she told WOOD-8.
Allowing a gay or transgendered student to run for school event royalty would not be without precedent. Earlier this year, two boys at a high school in Hudson, New York, ran jointly for the titles of Prom King and Queen, and won.
The ACLU was involved in the case of Constance McMillen, the lesbian high school student who sued her school earlier this year for refusing to allow her to wear a tuxedo and escort a female date to her school’s prom in rural Mississippi. The school canceled the prom rather than allow McMillen to bring another girl as a date to the event; a private prom was then hosted, but McMillen and a handful of other classmates did not attend. They ended up at another, poorly attended, dance at a different location. The school denied accusations that McMillen and the others had been shunted to a "sham prom."
Vasold identifies as "genderqueer," a term for those who don't adhere to either strictly male or strictly female gender roles.
-end-
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