A 16-year old transgender was named the Homecoming Queen at Marina High School in Hungtington Beach, California, according to ABC News.
Cassidy Lynn Campbell tearfully accepted her crown in front of camera crew and a crowd of students, family and football players on the field. "I wasn't doing this for me," she told ABC affiliate KABC-TV, shortly after being proclaimed the winner, "I was doing this for so many others, so many others around the nation."
Other students congratulated Campbell for attaining the most votes over five other finalists in the running. "I think it's really cool how we allowed her to run, and I just think it's a really good thing," student Kelsey Callanan said.
As the school's first transgender student nominated to the court, Campbell experienced some backlash after it was announced she would be in the top 10 contenders. "They think that I'm just a boy doing this for fun, and I'm just a boy dressing up as a girl and trying to win a crown when that is completely the opposite of what it is," she said. "I've always seen myself as a girl."
But the 16-year-old, who up until three years ago lived as Lance Campbell, did not let the negativity deter her from her goals, defending her decision to run on her Twitter account. "My goal isnt to be famous, it's to open people's eyes to the world around them, to teach people to be open minded and to rethink social norms," she wrote.
Campbell is also an avid YouTube user, and has posted a video of her daily transformation online. Campbell's mother has expressed her joy and pride at her daughter's achievements. "I never would have thought in my lifetime that I would see this," said Christine Campbell. "It's wonderful. She really did it."
