By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) Oct 25 | Students at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia have selected Junior Jessee Vasold as their homecoming Queen, 2009, according to an article published by The Newport News Daily Press, [Virginia] yesterday.
From The Daily Press correspondent Melinda Waldrop comes this report:
Photo of Jessee Vasold by The Daily Press
By Melinda Waldrop ( Williamsburg, Virignia) Oct 24 | History was made without fanfare on Saturday. Jessee Vasold, William & Mary's first transgender homecoming queen, took the field at halftime of the Tribe's game against James Madison wearing a red shirt, black pants and a small silver lip ring to applause and not much other notice.
Vasold, a junior, and the other members of the homecoming court were introduced to the crowd, posed for pictures, and walked off the field.
Vasold is the student assembly undersecretary of diversity initiatives for the college's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs. Last year, Vasold was co-president of the Lamba Alliance, the school's GLBT advocacy group.
Vasold, a junior, and the other members of the homecoming court were introduced to the crowd, posed for pictures, and walked off the field.
"I knew I was nominated, but I was just surprised, because there were a lot of other really good candidates on the ballot," Vasold said. "I know all of the other girls, and they're wonderful people, really friendly. So I was surprised."Vasold identifies as "gender-queer," a catch-all term for those who identify with something other than traditional male or female gender roles.
"Normally, it really just depends on the day, how I dress," said Vasold, who prefers gender neutral pronouns – "ze" instead of he or she and "zir" instead of him or her. "I don't identify as a woman. It really just depends on the day and the occasion."Vasold said family members were in town for homecoming, and while they have been "generally" supportive, some were unsure about Vasold's decision to accept the homecoming title.
"They're a little hesitant about this, but they realize that it's my choice to accept," Vasold said.William and Mary president Taylor Reveley had no problem with Vasold's selection, made in nominations and voting by students.
"I knew Jessee before," he said. "(It's) a little more publicity than normal for a homecoming queen, but it's just fine."Students were asked to describe how their nominees exemplified school pride, junior class president Mike Tsidulko told The Flat Hat, William and Mary's student newspaper.
Vasold is the student assembly undersecretary of diversity initiatives for the college's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs. Last year, Vasold was co-president of the Lamba Alliance, the school's GLBT advocacy group.
"I got a lot of support from the people I know," Vasold said.
Chartered on February 8, 1693, by King William III and Queen Mary II as the second college in the American colonies, William & Mary is a publicly funded school, and is the second-oldest college in the United States having educated former United States presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler, as well as numerous other distinguished American alumni.
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2 comments:
Great news. I would never hear of any of this stuff if I didn't read your blog.
Not at ALL the same thing, but I remember that Birmingham University in ~1971 had a Miss Theresa Laffe as Carnival Queen.
Now Miss Laffe was doing it for a giggle and to take the piss out of the event, and the person in your report is doing this because that is who they are. There is obviously no similarity.
Yet sometimes I wonder what became of Miss Laffe. She was interviewed on local radio. I know because I drove her to the studio.
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