Beauty Queens

Beauty is so important in our culture. Everyone wants to claim it. But it's an eye-opener to read that a transgender California teen is homecoming queen. That's beautiful.

A transgender teen in Huntington Beach, Calif., was named homecoming queen of Marina High School Friday night. Cassidy Lynn Campbell, 16, told The LA Times. She always felt like a girl. Born male, she began taking estrogen injections and hormone blockers when she entered high school.

"If I win it would mean that the school recognizes me as the gender I always felt I was," Campbell said before the election. "But with all the attention, I realized it's bigger than me. I'm doing this for the kids who can't be themselves.

"She was stunned. She kind of broke down on the podium," school district spokesman Tom Delapp said of her win. "She was shocked. She cried a lot.

"Her classmates chanted her name and friends ran down to hug her," Delapp told The Times.

“If this could help one child or more, hundreds or thousands or millions, then it was more than worth it,” she said.

Her principal told KCAL-9 News he is proud of the school and its student body.

"I was so proud to win, not just for me but for everyone out there," Cassidy said. "I think it really shows the progression of the times."

Amen.

Meanwhile, a Miss America drag queen parody is headed  to Atlantic City. "The Miss'd America pageant is a lot like the long-running beauty contest, but with drag queens," says Pop2It.

"The attention the beauty contest brings to Atlantic City certainly couldn't hurt Miss'd America. The drag queen pageant, which judges entrants on swimsuits, talent, evening gowns and the interviews raises money for local charities and also hopes to boost gay and lesbian tourism to the city."