On Friday, for perhaps the first time in Georgia, a transgender high school student was eligible to be homecoming queen.
But this year wasn't Eris Lovell's first time on the court — or her first time making history. The 17-year-old Walton High School student was elected to the court last year (when she was a junior, and ineligible to be queen).
At that point, Lovell was the first transgender Georgia student on a high school homecoming court.
"It's a lot less nerve-racking this year," she told the Marietta Daily Journal. She was elected along with four other girls from a pool of 25 nominees, Walton principal Judy McNeill told the paper.
"There was less reaction than last year probably because it's 'old news.' I kind of broke the barrier down last year," Lovell told the Georgia Voice. "People were super happy and excited that I was on there and nothing negative was said to my face."
“In the last 40 years we’ve become a very tolerant society where people tend to find their own path to walk,” Cobb school board vice chairman Randy Scamihorn told the AJC last year. “In this particular case, I think it’s still a local school issue and apparently they’re handling it very well because there’s been no objections or controversy.”
Lovell wasn't crowned homecoming queen at Friday's game, according to the Voice. But she watched a friend win.
"I’m super happy for her because she deserves everything," she said.
As Lovell told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last year, after her first election, "It's great to have this sort of moment because it tells other young trans people … you can achieve something that people may tell you you shouldn't do, it's not possible, it's dumb."
The AJC was not immediately able to reach Lovell for comment. Walton High officials did not respond to a request for comment.
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