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Last night transgender teen Cassidy Lynn Campbell won her bid to become homecoming queen at Marina High School in Huntington Beach. It should have been a happy ending to her campaign for the crown that attracted nationwide attention.
Last night, the 16-year-old Campbell broke down in tears of joy when her name was announced as homecoming queen. Students chanted her name and ran down to the field at halftime to give her a hug after her win, the Los Angeles Times reported. Afterward Campbell told reporters, "I was so proud to win, not just for me but for everyone out there. I think it really shows the progression of the times."
Her school principal Paul Morrow told KTLA he was proud that his school had voted for Campbell: “We're proud of the message from home of the Vikings has been one of equity, acceptance, tolerance and respect."
But the afterglow of her win didn't last long. Today Campbell posted a video of herself on her YouTube channel that she mostly uses to document her transition. Dressed in her homecoming queen crown and sash, she confessed that she wasn't feeling happy about her win. The negative comments that she had received from strangers had gotten her down: "Why is it that I fucking won homecoming queen but I'm not happy? I'm so sad, I'm so distraught and so broken down and so upset and so deteriorated and so tired of the world. I'm tired of the lies."
Campbell said that she's been deluged with "negative," "judgmental," "mean," "hateful" and "ignorant" comments, including some claiming that she is pretending to be a female. She reiterated what she's said before in media interviews: that she's felt like a girl since she can remember and it's dressing like a boy that feels like a fraud to her. She says, "It still does hurt my feelings because I'm a human being just like any girl out there. Take 'girl' out of it. I'm a human being."
Campbell said she's also feels that she can't live up to the pressure of being a role model (It reminds us a bit of the struggles of the Los Angeles Times sportswriter Mike Penner/Christine Daniels who transitioned in a very public way.) Campbell said, "I know I need to be strong, and I know I need to be strong for the kids I did this for and the kids I did this for. But I can't right now."
Via GLAAD's transgender resources: Transgender people in crisis should contact The Trevor Project's 24/7 Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386), Trevor Chat, the Trevor Projects' online messaging service, or The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
