I don't know whether you remember what is was like at school, but 'prom' (or Year 11 Ball or Leaver's Ball, whatever form it came in) was a big frickin' deal.
A quick whip around our office provided a host of stories, be it tears at midnight, theme wars, custom dresses or bad DJs - we all remember our Proms.
The dress and the date were, of course, of utmost importance and once they were decided, your life just got a whole lot easier.
Paula Goodgame is new to her High School in St. Petersburg, Florida, but with the prom coming up she was excited to invite her girlfriend of four months, who goes to another school, to go with her.
Her date, Anjali Persad, accepted the invitation, and the pair went ahead and got themselves suited and booted (so to speak) for the upcoming event.
Date? Check. Dress? Check.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, the fact that you go to a technically Catholic High School and it has a Draconian law that precludes same-sex couples from going to Prom together?
Homophobes say what?
The outlines given by the school state that 'escorts must be of the opposite gender'.
Since Goodgame was new to the school, she wasn't aware of this rule.
According to Buzzfeed, she reached out to her teacher saying:
I just transferred here and I don't exactly have too many friends, and that added on with the social anxiety of prom makes me feel like prom would be awkward for me. Because of that and news I heard from my friend, I was asking for confirmation if I could bring my girlfriend to prom. That way I could have a familiar face in the crowd and be with my date.
Since that teacher didn't respond, she reached out to the school counsellor, who responded flippantly.
Paula Tweeted the response for the world to see.
And boy did she get some responses.
Initially people just sent comments of support.
And then, they decided to take action.
Yep, everybody started emailing the school.
Paula can't believe all of the positive responses she has had so far.
And it looks like, far from stopping the pair being together, the young couple look closer than ever.
She spoke to Buzzfeed about the whole debacle saying:
I really love all the love and support we've received since the tweet blew up, It's been really amazing watching the LGBT community stick up for each other...I hope that all other LGBT students in our situation can find courage to stand up for themselves and for others so we can find equality for all. There are other gay people at the school, and a couple of the students there have gay parents. No one really expected this to come about, especially me and my friends..My family and my best friend's family is Catholic and they're supportive of what I do because they believe in 'love thy neighbour' despite who that 'neighbour' is.
Hear! Hear!
Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
