INDIANAPOLIS – North Central High School students elected their first transgender prom king on Saturday.
A loud roar of excitement was captured on camera the moment Alan Belmont was announced as prom king. The 17-year-old junior said he hopes the win will help other students struggling with gender identity.
"It's really cool to see the impact that one small thing has made,” said Belmont. “I’m just trying to make a statement and say that trans people are equal to people who are born with what they should be."
Belmont wrote in his own name on the ballot and was surprised when his peers supported him enough to vote for him. Although he gained enough votes to win, Belmont did receive some pushback from students.
His candidate poster was changed from “king” to “queen.”
"They refer to me as she when they're insulting, but they'll say stuff like ‘oh she took the spot of a guy and a guy should win that,’” said Belmont.
Belmont told his friends and family he was transgender last year. He said most of his peers have been supportive despite some negative feedback.
"I’ve gotten a lot of questions of, ‘what do you think, do you think that there's going to be a day when there's not going to be a first and that being trans and being prom king or queen is just normal’ and hopefully that ends up being the goal,” said Belmont. “Hopefully more transgender people will be inspired to run or be more prominent in their communities."
