For those of you in other countries who don't know what a prom is, perhaps a little explaining is in order. Prom is a formal dance that you attend at the end of your senior (and sometimes junior) year in high school. For many American girls,  it's one of two times in their life that they'll get to wear formal attire (the other being their wedding) so it's a pretty big deal. A lot of time and money is spent figuring out what to wear, making appointments to get your hair and makeup done, booking a limo, finding a date, and making reservations at a fancy restaurant. For most high school students, it's one of those seminal (pun intended) coming of age rituals. So, when Mississippi teen Constance McMillen's prom was cancelled because she planned to wear a tuxedo and take another girl as her date, believe me when I say it was a big freakin deal. The school board in this bassackward district has a ban on bringing same sex dates to the prom, and apparently also forbids women to wear pants because they didn't just deny McMillan's request to bring a female date, they also told her should couldn't wear a tuxedo. The school board says that it cancelled the prom because the controversy surrounding the situation was distracting McMillen's fellow students from their education. I choked a little bit on that massive turd of bullshit when I wrote it; did you choke a little when you read it? In response to the cancellation, parents of other students organized a private prom at a furniture mart in nearby Tupleo. The prom is "invitation only", and of course, Constance hasn't been invited. In one discussion on an internet forum, a poster who identified himself as a junior from the high school in question stated that "Constance and her gay-activist friends will not be attending [the private dance]. They can go have their own prom because we certainly do not want any of them there." At the center of this massive shit storm of stupidity and homophobia is a normal, 18 year old girl. Although it appears that many of her peers and the residents of her hometown aren't supporting her, the national opinion is much more divided, with many people, like talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, expressing their concern for her situation and admiration for her courage in standing up to the school district. Ellen invited McMillen to be a guest on her show, where she presented her with a $30,000 scholarship and offered her a summer internship in New York. Several organizations have offered to provide an alternative prom for the students in the district. But McMillen is fighting for the legitimacy of being able to attend the real prom, sanctioned by the high school, adding, "I just want to go and be able to be myself, go to the prom that I was supposed to have since I've never known what prom was." Maybe it's because I'm on the rag today, but this story actually brought me to tears. I don't type that easily because I like to pretend I'm a hardass who never cries about anything. I pull my hoodie around my face if I ever bawl at a sad movie and punch anyone who says anything about the water on my cheeks. But this literally made me cry. When I went to prom, I took a last minute date, bought a budget dress from T.J. Maxx, and got my sister to do my hair and makeup for me. The school district wasn't involved in picking out my outfit or approving my date, and it would have been some insane, 1984 "big brother" bullshit if they had tried. But then, I'm straight, and my date was a boy. It's just so damn frustrating. She's just a girl who wants to go her prom;  to wear an outfit she picked out after hours of agonizing and trying on different things. A girl who wants take that date that she finally worked up the nerve to ask. A girl who wants to slow dance awkwardly while she figures out exactly where she can rest her hands without offending her date or looking too clumsy. Prom is a collection of annoying, awkward, hilarious, exciting experiences that comprise a ubiquitous  rite of passage for every American teenager. She has a right to make those memories- as do all the the other students in her class-- and it saddens me greatly that because of the intractable self-righteousness of a school board who seems to have forgotten, or chosen to ignore, every American's right to liberty, they won't get to have those experiences or make those memories. /> For those of you in other countries who don't know what a prom is, perhaps a little explaining is in order. Prom is a formal dance that you attend at the end of your senior (and sometimes junior) year in high school. For many American girls,  it's one of two times in their life that they'll get to wear formal attire (the other being their wedding) so it's a pretty big deal. A lot of time and money is spent figuring out what to wear, making appointments to get your hair and makeup done, book...