Thaindian News

London, Apr 2 (ANI): A lesbian student in the US has won the right to wear a tuxedo to her upcoming senior prom

Belinda Sanchez, 18, had been devastated when she was told that she would have to wear a dress to her prom, as being a lesbian, she had wanted to wear a tuxedo.

The Proviso East High School student, who hopes one day to become a civil rights attorney, refused to take the “dresses for girls and tuxes for boys” rule sitting down.

She contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois over the situation and the group sent the school an email backing her decision, following which she was allowed to wear the tuxedo.

Sanchez said she has been open about her sexuality since freshman year and said the school has an active gay-straight alliance very supportive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

“This sends a negative message to other students that they can’t express who they are,” the Daily Mail quoted the director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Project at ACLU John Knight, as saying.

“It’s a First Amendment right, a free speech right, and that includes her right to send a message through wearing male clothing that she doesn’t think women should be restricted to traditional female clothing,” he said.

The Proviso Township school district sent a response to Knight saying that Sanchez could wear the tux to the prom and that they had decided she could before the ACLU even got involved.

Sanchez is delighted by the decision and has picked out a white tuxedo and black bow tie to wear to the main event of her senior year on April 22.

“I’m happy. I didn’t just stand up for myself. I did this for everyone who’s in a position like I’m in. It’s like a fairy tale gone totally fairy,” she added. (ANI)