- (gasps) Oh my God!
Look, there's rainbows!
(cheering)
(upbeat techno music)
- Look there's reporters and shit!
Are you kidding, reporters?
- This is my first time going to prom.
At first I was, like, really for prom
back when I was, like, in the closet.
Oh, it's a chance to, like, dance with a nice girl
But then, like, after I realized my sexuality
I started feeling as though prom wasn't really for me.
But now that I'm getting close to queer prom
I feel as though it's like prom is for everybody
and I'm really excited to get out there and dance.
(cheering)
- This is the first prom that I've ever been to
and the last.
I have never been to a prom because
my junior year I had a lot of financial troubles
and even if I had gone to prom
I would not have had a good time.
My school was not very accepting.
I just got to come in and not feel like the odd one out.
I'm queer and it's a good thing!
- We come from white suburbia Massachusetts,
so coming here and being at an all queer prom
it's definitely different (laughs)
from our past experiences.
- For once I don't feel like I stand out.
- [Quinn] I feel like my outfit right now
is giving me all the curves that I could ask for.
I feel like I definitely slayed the red carpet.
- I mean I went to my Junior prom
but that doesn't compare to this, so.
This one is very open and very free
and like everyone's being themself
and it's just amazing to watch.
- [Group] One, two, three.
- Queer Prom!
- This prom feels a ton gayer than all of my other prom's
in a good way.
I feel like I'm really excited
to get to meet more people here
and to have a fun night with Caitlin.
- Ditto, with Sage.
(upbeat music)
♫ I've been here
♫ Searchin' all this time
♫ For a little bit a sunshine
♫ To light up this life of mine
♫ Finally my moment has arrived
♫ This feels like the best day of my life
♫ Must be the best day of my life
♫ For real
♫ Watch this
♫ Shine
- Hello, hello, hello!
(cheering)
Where are my queer people at?
(cheering)
So thank you so much for coming.
You're a beautiful, beautiful crowd
and I wanted to give a special thanks
to all of the high school students who came.
(cheering)
I want to really highlight who this night is about,
not only the high school students,
but we have a very special prom court,
including you Lee, yup, and you Afsoun.
Come up, come up on the stage.
(cheering)
Now you know every prom has to have
a King or Queen, so can we get Adam Lambert to the stage?
(cheering)
- Thank you!
Awwwww! You guys are so cute!
I think I'm supposed to give crowns to people now.
(cheering)
- Yeah, so, we have a Prom King Here
Mr. Christopher.
(cheering)
- It feels amazing, like
I didn't expect for me to be Prom King.
I never, like, expected that I would get to be one
ever in my life.
- Next we have
Mr. Prom King Rowan.
Yes!
(cheering)
- I was an emotional wreck, on the inside.
Adam (bleep) Lambert just gave me a crown.
Like, when does that ever happen?
- Alright we've got Afsoun.
(cheering)
Prom Queen.
And Afsoun's Prom Queen wife, Quinn.
(cheering)
- In the town that we grew up in
there definitely wasn't a lot of support
there definitely wasn't a lot of exposure to LGBT.
Here we are in L.A.,
a place that I never imagined that we'd be.
Just know that you aren't alone,
know that there are other people out there.
We've made it this far.
- We have Sage and Caitlin. (cheering)
- Even if you didn't get invited to come to BuzzFeed's Prom,
you should still know that there's people in your area
that are really ready to support and accept you
and you'll feel just as loved as we do right now.
- Hailing all the way from South Africa, Mr. Lee.
Let's get it over Lee. (cheering)
And finally, Otter!
(cheering)
- I want to tell all the queer kids,
all the trans kids that are at home
and are not able to come to this
that, your time is coming,
and once you tell yourself that you know who you are
and no one can take that from you
- Yeah.
- No one can touch you.
- Ladies and gentlemen this is your 2017
BuzzFeed Queer Prom Court!
(cheering)
- Even when you're feeling alone, remember this feeling
and remember the people that are here tonight
and remember your family because we're always there with you
and you're never alone.
- Just still be yourself.
Be you, be true to yourself and shine as bright
as all of the colors in our rainbow.
(cheering)
- Stay tuned 'cuz there might be a little bit of surprise
'cuz it can't be queer if there isn't drag.
(cheering)
(upbeat music)
- [Lee] I've never seen
any type of Drag in real life
so seeing one IRL was like the best feeling ever.
I think the first one that came out was like
such a gymnastic type performer
and like was all over the place.
So it was like super like daredevil-ish.
- [Quinn] She had somethin' to say
for me to be like live, front row
seeing Jasmine Masters just twirl and do death drops
and back flips, whatever, right in front of me
it was, it was like I was watching her
lip-sync for her life.
- No matter what your desires are,
no matter what your dreams are, just go for them.
Live your life to the fullest, you only have one.
- [Rowan] The Drag performance, I mean, I had never done
anything like that.
Being able to be there and, like, feel the emotions
off of them on to us was just fantastic.
- Can't nobody do you like you can do you.
(cheering)
Who you are today
may not be who the (bleep) you are tomorrow
but that's nobody else's business but yours.
(cheering)
(upbeat music)
- [Sage] I loved the drag show. It was amazing.
Even if the drag Queens just walked in a circle
for like ten minutes I didn't care.
That's one thing I can about a drag show
is you will never leave bored.
- [Caitlin] I had never seen
- [Sage] Yeah, we had never seen Drag Queens before
- [Caitlin] So I was like 'Oh, Yes!'
- [Sage] Caitlin literally looked at me and she was like,
'Sage, close your mouth.'
- You are all beautiful. (cheering)
Don't you let nobody tell you different.
Goodnight!
(cheering)
Love you!
- [Christopher] As the night was ending
it was sort of just like
aw, like, I'm sad that it's ending.
But like, at the same time I'm glad it happened.
- [Otter] There's a mixed feeling
when the prom is starting to end
because you're like, okay cool, I'm tired, I'm hungry
but then you also look around and you're like
I'm never gonna be surrounded by this many queer people
probably ever again.
- Look at you, the cream of the crop
who made it all the way to-
Oh jeez, it's late.
Well, ya know what, I think we gotta treat this problem
a little throw back style
'cuz one thing we never get at prom is a nice slow dance.
(cheering)
So I think everyone needs to clear the rainbow floor
except for the beautiful Sage and Caitlin.
(cheering)
(slow music)
- [Sage] Well they played our favorite slow song right now
- [Caitlin] Yeah.
- [Sage] and, it was nice to be able to dance
'cuz like, we don't dance that much at ours
just because it's so much, like, grinding
so we usually just like sit and watch.
(slow music)
Even just like alone
even though everybody's eyes were on us
it felt like it was
- [Caitlin] It was alone.
- [Sage] just us
and it was really nice to be together
and to be really close to you
(cheering)
- So, um, I mean I really like what just happened
but it was like the most lesbian thing I've ever seen.
(laughing)
But in the best way possible.
Please thank the beautiful, wonderful parents
(cheering)
who came with our beautiful court members.
You are inspirations.
So I think we have to just end the night
and just be super (bleep) queer, yeah?
(cheering)
So you ready for the last song?
(upbeat dance music)
- [Afsoun] It went by so quickly
so just like for it to end, it was like oh no
it's coming to an end.
But it's also, I was still really like in shock
and still in awe with just being there.
(upbeat dance music)
- [In Unison] One, two, three, PROM!
(cheering)
- So, we're here at The Abbey in West Hollywood
It's the morning after the queer prom.
- It was very fun, it was very surprising.
I was like, wow!
It exceeded my expectations of like,
what an American dream prom would look like.
- [Quinn] Having gone through this experience
definitely boosted my confidence
and made me feel more like me.
- That's growth within you, within your experience.
Like it's just really good to see you confident.
- I kept capturing the look on Christopher's face
and he was in heaven.
I'm so grateful that his first experience
was such a supporting community.
As a mother we don't want any of the experience,
especially the initial one to be
traumatic or disappointing.
Remember you said you were gonna make him give me real hugs?
- [Eugene] Yes ma'am.
- I love you. - Okay.
- I tend to call Rowan my shadow
so it's very like, where I go Rowan goes.
Very quiet, doesn't really talk to folks much.
Rowan dancing at the prom last night
and interacting with folks was really, really different
and still shocking.
I'm so proud of you.
- Thanks bud.
- You're welcome.
- It was kind of like a freedom to be yourself.
Sometimes as people we use our eyes to judge people
rather than getting to know them and understanding them.
I think it's taught me to not use my eyes but use my heart.
I don't know if there's anything she doesn't know
I love her more than anything in the world.
It didn't become a queer prom
it became a prom of people that didn't care
who everybody else was.
- I just love you.
Thanks for supporting me no matter what.
Ya know, and like even when the family isn't.
Thanks for just being there for me.
- It's like kinda sad to like
go to our own respective hometowns and stuff like that
but like I know I have lifelong friends in them
and I can't wait to see them again some day.
- At queer prom I just saw all of these
queer and trans people who were really
successful and happy and fulfilled with their lives
even though they had been through
terrible stuff, like me.
But they still ended up happy
and I'm gonna take away that I also deserve that
I also deserve to be happy.
- I just didn't expect everyone
to be so down to earth and human.
I feel like I've known everyone for like my whole life.
It feels like a family.
Right before I came to the queer prom
I was supposed to go get my name changed at town hall
and then now I'm going home and in the coming weeks
I'm hoping to start not only on HRT
but to start officiating the name change.
I love you L.A.
I am Quinn in this video, and by the time this comes out
I will officially, legally be Quinn.
- These videos are really important and I feel like
these kids are coming out with different backgrounds
and learning to interact with different people
and learning more about themselves in the process.
I think I was educated more than I educated other people.
Don't be afraid to take that first step for advocacy
in your own school or in your own town
and don't be afraid to put yourself out there.
- With the BuzzFeed people and the prom court and everyone
we were just all so close knit as such a community.
We were all leaving today and everybody was crying,
I'm gonna cry, it's so sad!
Everybody that's queer goes through the same kind of stuff
and that we have each other no matter where we come from.
- I think the one thing that I'm gonna take away
from queer prom this year was that I'm normal (giggling).
That's such a new lesson!
(upbeat music)