Wisconsin School Creates Gender-Neutral Alternative to Homecoming King and Queen Tradition

With Homecoming Season here, there's a lot more that goes into being ready for your homecoming dance other than finding the perfect homecoming dress, shoes, and accessories. There's also the age-old tradition of choosing your high school's homecoming king and queen, of course!

Well, this tradition has been given a new spin by a Wisconsin high school - this year Madison West High School in Madison, Wisconsin are starting a new tradition of a gender-neutral alternative for their homecoming court. Instead of electing a homecoming king and queen, students can nominate 20 student who they feel best represent Madison West High School, and two students will be chosen "Regent Royalty," regardless of gender. The name comes from their school mascot, which is the Regent.

WMTV explained that this progressive idea was thought up last year, when it was proposed by Madison West High School Gay Straight Alliance members Arwen Sadler and Kate Scholz. And, they worked hard to see their vision through. Students at the high school collected almost 1,000 signatures from students and teachers who supported a more inclusive method for choosing homecoming court nominees. Their hard work paid off, because Homecoming 2015 is the first year this new homecoming policy will be put into place. 

Kate explained to WMTV, "For a small subset of students, it's a really powerful change and validates in a way their existence."

The gender neutral Homecoming Court made its debut this past Thursday. You can watch the momentous event in action here:

Congrats to all involved in this momentous moment! No matter who actually became Regent Royalty, it was certainly a historic moment for not only Madison West High School, but high schools throughout the nation.

Leave a Reply