Utah students crown state’s first transgender prom queen
By Ryan Love
A transgender teenager has celebrated being crowned Prom Queen in Utah, America.
Local news reports have said that Maka Brown is the first transgender Prom Queen in the state, after fellow students at the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts chose her.
Speaking to People magazine, the 18-year-old said that receiving the honor showed that today’s generation “is more accepting of people who are different”.
“The people at my school are so accepting and so supportive – they accept me exactly as I am. It’s a scary thing, when you first come out and tell people you’re transgender, but everyone has been great. My friends at school have helped me to live an authentic life, to be who I am,” she explained.
The school’s vice-principal Ron Literall said:”How could we not be accepting? The students who walk through our doors are a melting pot of personality types, genders, ethnicities, and religious convictions. They are blossoming dancers, actors, musicians and scholars. We value Maka and all of our students for who they are.”
Maka attended promo with her boyfriend Ross Dittman, where she was first shocked to discover that she had been nominated for the title.
“That alone was an honor. but then to win? I was speechless,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it when they put that tiara on my head.”
Maka’s mother, who also contributed to the piece, admitted that she struggled when Maka first came out as transgender, but now said that her daughter is the “bravest person I know”.
Last summer, the US Court of Appeals struck down a ban on same-sex marriage in Utah.
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