Oak Park High School in Kansas City has just crowned 17-year-old Tristan Young as the school’s homecoming queen. Young is the second transgender girl to be crowned homecoming queen by the school, following in the footsteps of Landon Patterson, who was queen in 2015. North Kansas City Schools celebrated the win by posting photos of Young’s crowning. Thousands of comments poured in on the post, showing support and celebration. Unfortunately, the transphobic comments rolled in as well. Riley Gaines, a former college swimmer who has been a vocal opponent of trans women competing on women’s sports teams, was one of those publicly criticizing Young’s crowning. Luckily, Young’s community publicly backed her up. Justice Horn, chair of the Kansas City LGBTQ Commission tweeted in support of Young, saying “I uplift this against the transphobic comments against this young person who was named queen by their peers. I’m thankful the next generation of Kansas City is so kind.” Asked about Young’s crowning and the mixed reaction, a North Kansas City Schools official emphasized that student votes determine the homecoming courts. Young competed for the title against four other students, whom she recognized on social media after her win.
