Imagine being voted Homecoming King, then having your high school unceremoniously rescind the honor. That's exactly what happened to 17-year-old Oakley (nicknamed Oak) Reed, left, a senior at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon, Mich.
The problem with him wearing the crown? Reed is a transgendered student who is still female.
This was hardly a secret to his school, where, as he told Wood TV, teachers openly refer to him as "him," and he will wear a male robe and cap at graduation.
It was only after Reed posted "Vote for me for Homecoming King" on his Facebook page -- and his fellow students decided he deserved the title -- that he was summoned to the principal's office, where he was informed he couldn't fulfill his King-ly duties because he was a girl.
Translation: Any form of gender-bending will not be tolerated in the halls of Mona Shores.
Thankfully, his fellow students have rallied, creating a Facebook group, Oak is my King, where they've posted the protest below and created specially designed T-shirts in support of Reed and transgendered rights, which they plan to wear in solidarity on Oct. 1.
While this isn't the first time a high school has used a big dance-y dance to throw the rule book at a gay or transgendered teen, we hope it will be the last. It's kind of depressing when the student body seems more enlightened than the adults in the faculty.
Hear Reed's plight in his own words in a video after the jump.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 14:54
Imagine being voted Homecoming King, then having your high school unceremoniously rescind the honor. That's exactly what happened to 17-year-old Oakley (nicknamed Oak) Reed, left, a senior at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon, Mich. 
