Two teens host a ‘Queer Prom’ for LGBTQ+ students
Mar 25, 2022, 8:10 PM | Updated: Jun 18, 2022, 8:48 pm
OGDEN, Utah— Queer Prom will be at DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts, but it’s open to all teens.
Seniors here are asked to plan a project around solving a problem, and Jocelyn Anglesey is building hers, around building community for teens like her.
The type of prom that Jocelyn Anglesey is planning, will be much like many others but there will also be important differences.
“Dances have really heavy stigmas around them,” Anglesey said. “A lot of schools don’t even allow like same sex couples to come in.”
Held inside this high school gym, it will be aimed at helping teens who are marginalized, feel more accepted.
“Kids need to be able to have a safe space that’s monitored by parents and a place where they know that there is informational booths that they can talk to if they need anything,” Anglesey said.
There will be lots of supporting adult chaperones, and booths set up to offer support, as well as makeup and fashion tips.
“We are all very lucky to live here, and yet a lot of people don’t get the privilege of feeling safe in their own homes, or at school,” Bliss Van Der Venter.
Van Der Venter had the idea last year when she was a senior, but couldn’t get it going because of COVID restrictions.
“…and I mentioned it one time to Jocelyn and she was like, ‘that is the coolest thing ever. I want to do that so bad,’ and she just took it and ran with it,” Van Der Center said.
And what Anglesey thought would be a small event… she says already has hundreds of RSVP’s.
“A lot of people contacting me, telling me how excited they were that I was throwing something that they could come to,” Anglesey said.
Tonight, they’re glad to offer that support to other teens, that might not have it in their friends or at home.
“Everyone needs that. No one should be reprimanded for who they are,” Anglesey said.
Queer Prom starts tomorrow at seven. It costs five dollars to get in.
The folks over at Ogden Pride say they like the idea enough that they’re looking at keeping it going in coming years.
