- My prom was kind of hilarious.
I went with a very good guy friend of mine
and another couple on a double date,
and I actually made out with the other guy's prom date.
So technically, my prom was pretty great.
(laughs)
(upbeat music)
- I never got to have a prom, this is my first prom.
- I went with a good friend of mine
who I was in school with, and she and I used
to like laugh constantly, so we had a good time.
And we matched, we were both in like black featuring red.
- I definitely stood out, I went to an all-boy
Jesuit school in Miami, where I was closeted
because in the 90s that's what you did in high school.
- My prom was a lot of fun, I just remember
me and my friends renting a limo and we just partied
from the time we got in the limo
to the time we got back dropped off at home.
- I had a good time, I danced a lot.
- It felt very traditional, I feel.
- It was definitely traditional.
- We got like the corsages, what are they called?
- Corsages. - Corsages.
- Oh, I was prom king, I was very popular.
I was captain of my cheerleading squad, too.
- I actually did not attend prom.
I didn't go because I didn't really feel comfortable enough
in my sexuality or my gender expression
to really go to prom with someone who I'd like to go with
and what I wanted to wear.
- I went to prom with a close friend of mine who ended up
dancing all night with a guy that she liked, and you know,
I had a good time, but I ended up alone.
- To prom, I went with a girl
because it wasn't okay to be out.
It was a great night, but it wasn't a night
where I was who I was fully.
- [Robert Sepulveda Jr.] I didn't go to prom.
- [Arisce] Aww. - I didn't go to prom
because I knew I was a gay boy
living in a very southern city so when I heard
that BuzzFeed was doing a queer prom,
I thought that was the most amazing, special thing on earth.
- Depending on where these kids are located,
there schools might not be open to this kind of a thing
and even if their schools do have an open-door policy,
they might not feel comfortable.
So this is a safe space tonight.
- I think it's so important for queer kids
to see other queer kids living authentically.
To see all of these LGBTQ+ people together,
it really builds community and I think that's something
that LGBTQ young people don't really get a lot of.
I'm so, so happy to be you know,
in this lifetime where we have queer proms
and we have pride in high school.
It's just an amazing thing so I love it.
- I just think it's important, in general, to get together
and just celebrate who you are.
- It's so important to express individuality
and togetherness at the same time,
especially in this political climate.
- [Scott] And it's so unbelievable
that one of the biggest websites
in the world, BuzFeed, is putting on an event
that's just completely inclusive of queer kids
and so all of these people around America
and around the world are seeing these videos
and they are thinking, wow, I'm not alone.
Things like this are happening.
- When I grew up, I didn't have anything like this.
I didn't have this kind of visibility,
to see and to feel the support.
- There's like a box of like, typical prom.
So to see something like this would have been really cool.
Like you would have had ideas and just felt empowered.
- To show up to your peers wearing whatever you want.
- Prom is usually just a cisgender,
heteronormative tradition.
- Times are changing so much and it's beautiful to see kids
be able to celebrate who they are
in the fullness of who they are.
- I think the last thing you want to be thinking about
is, are you allowed to go there
because you choose to go with who you like,
who you love, you know, so I think it's important
to have events like this to raise awareness that
this is something we're not going to tolerate
in this society, that America's better than this.
That people are the same and equal.
- My queerest story.
- Oh some mini girl
(laughter)
Okay, that's maybe a little too dirty.
- Two years ago at the Grammys,
he wore like a full dress moment.
- I did wear a dress to the Grammys.
- And it was bold and it was beautiful
and he got all raving reviews.
- I was once in hug with Ellen DeGeneres and Ellen Paige.
I don't know if it gets any queerer than that or awesome.
- I got to open Brittney Spears' Circus Tour,
that's pretty major.
- So opening for Kesha at my first Pride
felt pretty queer and pretty amazing.
- I was partially raised by a member of the LGBTQ community.
I'm straight but I've always kind of been put in that box.
I feel like I definitely connect
and understand what the experience is.
- Honestly when I started to get into glitter on my face,
like probably in the last year
or actually a few months actually.
- [Adam] Oh I'm just all queer all the time.
I mean, I don't know if you can classify one
as being more queer than the other.
I'm like a unicorn, you can't see the horn, it's invisible.
- You are not wrong, period.
You're not wrong and don't ever let anybody
make you feel wrong for just being you.
- [Arisce] Keep resisting and keep being yourself,
regardless of what people tell you to do
because society is really good at saying,
oh be yourself, oh wait, but not like that.
Enough of that shit, be yourself.
And shove it in people's faces.
- When your at home as a teenager dealing with bullying
or with difficult people, I would say that it's important
to stay true to yourself.
- The community is much larger than we think it is at times.
I remember growing up and feeling like it's this big.
And once you kind of make these connections,
it kind of opens that up.
- [Echo] The people who matter don't care
and the people who care don't matter.
- I think if anybody's out there and they feel like
they don't belong at prom, prove all those kids wrong.
Find a crew to go with, go with your friends,
go with a date, I know it's hard, and I know high school
makes it very difficult, but if your at a dance,
it's your memory, it's not their memory so do it for you.
- [Deray] You belong everywhere and sometimes the prom,
in some places, isn't just the best place for you.
Which you can make that experience somewhere else
and it doesn't have to be at the school or in the gym.
- You have something to give.
You have something to offer this world.
- It definitely gets better and just try to enjoy it.
And I would say just be yourself, like no shame.
Just be yourself. - Absolutely.
- Have fun and live your life,
you only get one chance at this
and you have to do it your way.
(upbeat music)