High school opts for gender-neutral prom court after backlash linked to transgender student

A Georgia high school selected two “Royal Knights” at its prom this year after facing backlash for reportedly telling a transgender student that he could only be selected as prom queen.

Dex Frier, who is transgender, said last week that Gainesville’s Johnson High School was forcing him to run for prom queen after his classmates nominated him for king.

The school’s actions prompted nationwide backlash and a petition that gathered thousands of signatures.

Frier told NBC News on Tuesday that at the school’s prom over the weekend, officials decided to go with gender neutral prom court categories.

{mosads}“I think they changed the categories because they were starting to understand exactly how far our movement could go,” Frier said. “Our superintendent said that he didn’t want to put our school in between a hot topic, but he did that by neglecting to have rules that dictate gender-ruled ballots in the first place.”

Frier and another boy in his class were named the Royal Knights in honor of the high school’s mascot, an experience he called “amazingly overwhelming.”

Still, Frier said he wished that the school had stuck with the categories and allowed him to run for prom king.

“I wasn’t thrilled to hear that they made a completely nonbinary ballot, but it was better than being exiled from the group,” he said. “I would have preferred the situation be left alone, because everyone was fine with it as it was, but I was grateful to still be included though.”