Pride Prom
Dance organizers provide an environment where same-sex couples don't need to fear being seen

By Russell Moore, Perfect World Staff

The Russian Jack chalet is set back from the road, and whatever is going on inside can't be seen or heard by anyone who passes the driveway. Organizers say this was an important factor in the chalet's selection as the venue for the first Pride Prom, an event cosponsored by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network's Anchorage chapter and the Imperial Courts of Alaska.

Inside the chalet last Friday, kids were dancing together happily, boys with girls, girls with girls, and boys with boys. Everyone seemed carefree and delighted to be in a friendly environment.

Attendees weren't dressed as formally as students usually are at school-sponsored proms. Rather than tuxedos and "poufy" dresses, these kids chose tight fluorescent-colored jerseys and shiny pants. Their hairstyles ranged from carefully coiffured short curls to flowing, rainbow-dyed strands. Kids were dancing close but not scandalously; "freaking" seemed rare and short-lived when it did occur.

The dance was open from 8 to 11 p.m., the music occasionally interrupted by drawings for raffle prizes donated by local businesses -- REI, Red Robin, Century Theatres and Jitters Coffee all provided giveaway items.

The Pride Prom was designed for students who didn't feel comfortable attending the prom at their own schools because of their sexuality. Steven, a GLSEN board member who declined to give his last name, estimated that about 40 kids attended the Pride Prom. Four or five had tried to attend their own proms with same-sex dates, he said, but had either been explicitly banned or felt too intimidated to attend.

Eva Nelson, a junior at Chugiak and a member of that school's Gay-Straight Alliance, said that Chugiak proms admit same-sex couples. "However, most people do not go because they know the discrimination would be strong."

The preference for anonymity was visible in several areas of the Pride Prom -- many students didn't want to be photographed, and few people gave their last names. Even an organizational e-mail message omitted the last names of volunteers. The Pride Prom wasn't publicly advertised, and information about it was only spread by word of mouth. Still, the prom was very successful, Nelson said afterward.

"This was a really good, healthy way for people in our community to . . . diversely have a good time, without being ridiculed or anything," she said.

GLSEN is based in New York and has spread nationwide -- Fairbanks, Anchorage and Kodiak all have chapters -- since its inception about five years ago. The group describes itself as "the leading national organizaton fighting to end anti-gay bias in K-12 schools." GLSEN monitors public school systems throughout the country and encourages them to adopt standards that are fair to people of all sexual orientations.

The Imperial Court of Alaska is a chapter of the international nonprofit International Imperial Court System, an organization that raises money, then redistributes it to other organizations in the form of grants and scholarships. Although the group advocates for the causes of gay men and women, the Imperial Court gives money to a wide range of people, said Kent, the Alaska Court's current "Emperor" and an organizer of the Pride Prom. "We don't discriminate in who we're giving to," he said. Kent asked that his last name not be used.

The energy of gay people and their advocates is shifting, prom organizers said. A few years ago, the buzzword was tolerance -- tolerance in schools, tolerance in church, tolerance in government, law, jobs and life. But tolerance of gay people isn't enough, GLSEN and other groups say. They want respect. GLSEN's upcoming conference, "Teaching Respect for All 2001," aims to "create a future in which every child learns to accept and respect all others." The conference will be held in Washington, D.C., in late September.

Steven said that the best thing that anyone can do to help improve life for gay people is to include language regarding sexual orientation in sexual harassment policies in schools and businesses. Nelson mentioned that the Anchorage School Board will be voting on a proposal to include such a clause in the Anchorage School District's harassment policy on June 25.

The Pride Prom was a great success, Steven said, and GLSEN and the Imperial Court plan to make it a yearly event. It will be "bigger and better" next year, he said.

· Russell Moore is a senior at Polaris K-12 and an editor of Perfect World. He can be reached at rmoore@adn.com and 257-4306.

Return to P.E.R.S.O.N. Project Home Page