Definitely a good look for prom night

Can your children catch being gay?  Many people still seem to think so.  Fear that exposing teens to any homosexuality may scar them or even turn them to the dark side seems to be behind the recent rumpus at a school in Mississippi.  The gloriously named Itawamba Agricultural High School recently cancelled its annual prom rather than let lesbian student Constance McMullen bring her girlfriend along.  This has had a doubly nasty effect – not only has McMullen missed out on the prom, she is now being made a scapegoat as the girl who ruined the whole school’s big night.

Is shutting down a school dance such a big deal?  Compared the acts of violence and extreme discrimination gays are subjected to around the world, being denied the right to dress up as a wedding cake and parade around a school gym poorly disguised with bunting seems pretty lightweight.  But at the same time, yes – it is a big deal, for the simple reason that schools remain one of the worst strongholds of open homophobia.

this could work too

Anyone who thinks the Mississippi case is simply an example of faraway, bible-bashing rednecks making fools of themselves needs a reality check.  Schools in Britain are still rife with homophobic bullying – unsurprisingly, faith schools are by far the worst – with abuse often ignored by teachers who are embarrassed or themselves homophobes.  Adults are so nervous discussing sexuality with anyone underage that they would rather let pupils suspected of being gay suffer alone from bullying than have an honest, open conversation. Behind this lies a fear of making children “grow up too fast”, forcing them to precocious knowledge that confuses them and shortens their childhood.  But it is adults who are confused – in remaining hush-hush about homosexuality they give children the impression that the subject is taboo, shameful, and something that adults themselves don’t have the skills to cope with. Is it any wonder that children brought up amongst this poisonous confusion often end up bullying people they think are different?  While we now have an example of this twisted attitude from a school in America’s Deep South, I suspect that similar attitudes are bubbling under the surface in a school near you.

I really hope Constance McMillan and her girlfriend get to go to the prom in the end.  Though it isn’t a British tradition, we actually had one at my school in North London – and it’s an occasion I’ll never forget.  Why?  Because that was the time when I decided to put the brand new dinner suit I’d borrowed from my dad in the washing machine…

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