Teen makes history as Florida's first transgender homecoming queen
ORLANDO, Fla. - As Orlando gets ready to celebrate Pride, one high school is celebrating one 17-year-old student.
Evan Bialosuknia was crowned homecoming queen at Olympia High School. For her, the crown is much more than plastic. She is the first transgender homecoming queen in the state of Florida.
"I can’t really describe it in one word. The heartwarming love and acceptance that everyone was giving me was incredible," she said.
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Evan came out to her classmates as trans at the beginning of the school year.
"I’ve been this way since I was telling my mom and sister that I was a girl at two-and-a-half years old," the teen said. "Knowing that I’m able to make history at my school, for being who I am, makes me incredibly happy."
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Though Evan is very confident, her transition hasn’t always been easy. It has taken time and patience. She says she has had to grow a very thick skin.
"Looking at pictures when I played football, that was me trying to be a boy’s expectation," she explained. "I have been so much happier with myself being able to look at myself the way I want to look at myself."
This is all possible thanks to Evan’s family. Evan’s mother, Marnie, has been there every step of the way. She was overjoyed to learn Evan was crowned.
"We just want other kids to know that they can be whoever they want to be, just like Evan has, and we support her," Marnie said. "It was just the most unbelievable feeling, almost like a euphoric feeling. Like, wow, it’s really not a joke. They’re being true in their embracing her and they’re letting her know it’s okay to be who you want to be and we still want you to represent us and our school."
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