Orlando High School Crowns First Transgender Homecoming Queen

Evan Bialosuknia is a high school senior at Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida. Bialosuknia was born a biological male but now identifies as a transgender female, which fulfilled the school's requirement to run for Homecoming Queen.

The homecoming hopeful began promoting a campaign at Olympic High to garner votes and become the first trans female to win the co-honor of the night — once intended for biological females.

Bialosuknia's endless promotion with on-campus LGBTQ clubs and social media messages led to this crowning moment as Homecoming Queen, a historic first for the high school.

According to the CBS 6 South Florida report, Bialosuknia began to transition during his junior year at Olympia and even played for the football program prior to declaring himself a transgender female.

"Every year, a beautiful girl wins homecoming queen and that's how it always is," said Bialosuknia, in an interview with CBS News. "Ever since I was little, I was like, 'I want to be a queen, I want to be that star in a moment of glory.'"

Despite ardent support from friends and classmates alike, the 17-year-old Homecoming Queen felt insecure over his stance on the Homecoming honors, calling for differences between men and women to be overlooked for the sake of progress.

"I really wanted to get it and I was pretty confident I had a chance, but if I didn't get it, it's not the end of the world," added the high school senior. "But for me, it felt a little bit more than that, because as a transgender woman, it lets you know you're being who you are. And it's not any different than a cisgender woman being homecoming queen."

Transitioning in one's teens has long been a contested notion due to high rates of suicide and eventual pivoting from life-altering decisions that they pre-maturely make.

Male-to-female transitions have seen a 29.9 percent rate of attempted suicide, while female-to-male cases add up to a 50.8 percent rate. Bialosuknia believes that by blurring the lines between biological sexes, this demographic in the U.S. will begin feel accepted.

"It makes me so happy that people are on my side and have my back. It just makes me feel like any other girl." 

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Alejandro Avila lives in Southern California and previously covered news for the LA Football Network. Jeopardy expert and grumpy sports fan. Known for having watched every movie and constant craving for dessert. @alejandroaveela (on X)