Teens attend gay-friendly prom in Manassas
{John Boal/News & Messenger}
Teenagers dance at Prince William County’s first official gay-friendly prom at Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church in Old Town Manassas.
“Oh, my God, oh my God, hurry up!”
No, these weren’t the words of Jack Bauer trying to dismantle a bomb on the hit show “24.” Lil’ John’s “Aww, Skeet Skeet” was on the airwaves at Saturday’s Shatter the Silence 2009 gay-friendly prom, and one particular girl was demanding her friend finish her punch so they could run back to the dance floor.
Enthusiasm like that was widespread as more than 30 high school students from all over Northern Virginia boogied the night away at Prince William County’s first official gay-friendly teenage dance at Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church in Old Town Manassas.
While the numbers weren’t quite as high as organizers were expecting, the dance was a blast for many that came — gay or straight.
“It was really cool to have some place where you could go and be gay,” laughed Brentsville junior Kim Sheridan, who came with date and schoolmate Ashley Groth.
“Going to [Brentsville’s] school prom, I wouldn’t be afraid but it would be so awkward,” Groth said. “Now that we are here, it doesn’t really matter.”
Bull Run director of religious education Gail Dickert, along with members of the Northern Virginia chapter of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, Equality Prince William and the county’s Gay Straight Alliance helped organize the event. Battlefield High School junior and incoming GSA president David Aponte, who’s straight, was one such planner.
Bullied in his younger days for his smallish stature and Jewish faith, Aponte said he was proud to be associated with this year’s inaugural event.
“It was a very cool opportunity to start something like this in Prince William County,” said Aponte, who is also a member of GLESN and is involved with the anti-defamation league. “... I know there are some straight people here and you can tell people are interested in this kind of thing, something historic for the county.”
Dickert credits the Facebook phenomenon for spreading the word about the event in a state and county known more for its conservative politics.
Dickert, a lesbian who wrote recently a book about her struggles with her sexuality, was identified by a member of an “anti ex-gay group” online, which led her to join the local GSA.
On the GSA message board, there was talk of having a gay-friendly prom. When Dickert brought it up to her adult friends and co-workers, there was a tremendous interest in hosting the event.
On Saturday, their planning came to fruition.
“It’s almost on some level that they [students] don’t recognize they’re in Virginia,” Dickert said.
Eventually, Aponte would like to see the event expand to the size of the gay prom in Arlington, a recently created event that now draws around 100 attendees each year. Brentsville junior Kiyoshi Shaw, best friends of Sheridan and Groth, is confident it will.
“People here are really outgoing, they are just going at it, and I know they will tell other people about it,” said Shaw, who came out this school year. “I think next year it will just escalate now that more people know about it.”
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.
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““Homosexual” is not a type of person, it is a type of behavior. If that’s not true, then “homophobe” or “pedophile” or “fornicator” can claim to be types of persons, not types of behavior, and demand “tolerance” for their basic natures.
No, because homophobes and pedophiles have victims - and a persons basic behavior does not trump the rights of another.
Homosexuals do not have victims, but willing partners. Big difference.
BobC1960 et al., I will not post to this thread either, it’s getting far afield. No one objects to kids having fun and dancing and feeling safe and loved, those are universal goods. But throw in the H-word behavioral marker, and that’s when the arguments start. We show love for kids by telling them the truth about life and certain behaviors. Truth is the scary T-word that people like to avoid, mostly out of politeness over disagreements as to what it contains, but also out of fear as to what it demands.
parsleysage and Mike, I am not going to post any more here. It is fruitless. I have my perspective and you have yours. We will never agree. I am tolerant enough to tell you that I hope that you find satisfaction in life and your understanding of God. The whole reason why I came on here was to defend the kids and the people that cared enough about them to give them a place to go without having to worry about judgment and condemnation. I still commend BRUU and any other effort in this.
Hello BobC1960, to clarify the misunderstanding: you refer to homosexuals having “their nature” as if there was a “homosexual nature” and a “heterosexual nature.“ This is not true, there is only one nature, one natural law. If I fall off a ladder, I cannot invoke my personal law of gravity to bail me out. So it is with natural moral law, given that there is a Creator with a plan and a purpose. “Homosexual” is not a type of person, it is a type of behavior. If that’s not true, then “homophobe” or “pedophile” or “fornicator” can claim to be types of persons, not types of behavior, and demand “tolerance” for their basic natures.
Let me start out by saying that I do not attend services at BRUU.
The Leviticus verse in context is should be translated so that this passage does not refer to gay sex generally, but only to a specific form of homosexual prostitution in Pagan temples. Much of Leviticus deals with the Holiness Code which outlined ways in which the ancient Hebrews were to be set apart to God.
Using an Protestant English translation of the Bible many believe that the passages in Leviticus has been verified by passages in Paul’s Epistles. The NIV and KJV of the Bible clearly condemn homosexual behavior at 1 Corinthians 6:9 and Romans 1:28 in the Christian Scriptures. These translations generally interpret the Greek words “malakoi” and “arsenokoitai” as referring to homosexuals.
We can be fairly certain that this is not the meaning that Paul wanted to convey. If he had, he would have used the Greek word “paiderasste.“ That was the standard term at the time for male homosexuals. We can conclude that he probably meant something different from persons who engaged in male-male adult sexual behavior. Down through the years, Christians have interpreted these words as referring to people of lacking a high moral standing, or to masturbators, or to men who sexually abuse boys, or to boys who are the victims of sexual abuse. Interpreting these passages as referring to sexually active homosexuals is simply the latest in a long series of attempts to make sense out of obscure words. The precise meaning is unknown.
BobC1960, explain to me what God meant in Lev. 18:22 when He said “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.“ I think that is pretty clear. Then explain 1 Cor. 6:9-10, which says “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, Nor Effiminate, Nor Abusers of themselves with Mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.“ The terms effeminate and “abusers of themselves with mankind” refer to homosexuals. An effeminate man acts like a woman. An abuser of oneself with mankind would be a man who commits filthy sodomy with another man. The scriptures are clear to me. What translation do they use over at BRUU?
Parsleysage you misunderstood what I wrote. Only bisexuals can commit a sexual sin? How did you get that out of what I wrote?
Also you say that the reproductive system is not also to be used for pleasure? Then why is it that we are sexual beings that derive pleasure from sexual activity devoid of reproducing. I feel sorry for you and whoever is in your life that you care about if you only engage in sexual activity for the purpose of reproduction. I guess I must be one of the deviants that you mention.
Regarding the comment by BobC1960, there is only one nature, not my nature or your nature; e.g., there is only one law of gravity, to which we all are subject. As another example, nature dictates the purpose of the digestive system, i.e., the processing of food for the good of the body. Any other use is inherently unnatural. Similarly, the purpose of the reproductive system is (drum-roll) reproduction (surprise!). Any other use for purely entertainment purposes divorced from its natural purpose is similarly unnatural. That many people might find these fundamental, logical concepts shocking is a measure of how deviant our society has become, both “straight” and “gay.“ The interpretation of divine revelation, including scripture, only makes sense if a Creator God really exists; and if this God exists, then the universe follows natural laws according to His creative plan. Willful, freely-chosen rejection of His plan is called “sin.“ According to your bizarre interpretation of scripture, only so-called bisexuals can commit sins of a sexual nature; everybody else can do whatever they want.
I commend BRUU for it’s boldness in condoning the prom. I was there as a chaperone, and it was a wonderful occasion. I, the kids there, my child and the other adults reveled in an atmosphere of not judging, caring, and tolerance.
Mike, I don’t want to get into a scripture war with you, but you are wrong. The complete passage in Romans describes how a group of Christians left the church, converted to Paganism, and engaged in orgiastic, presumably heterosexual sexual activities. This type of behavior was common among Pagan fertility religions in Rome during Paul’s time. Paul writes that, later, God “gave them over” to something new: homosexual behavior. This implies that they had a heterosexual orientation and had engaged only in heterosexual sex throughout their lifetime. God influenced them in some way to engage in homosexual orgies. This was, for them, an unnatural, and thus sinful, activity.
Paul criticized them because they were engaged in sexual activity which was unnatural for them. For a person with a heterosexual orientation, homosexual behavior is “shameful,“ “unnatural,“ “indecent,“ and a “perversion.“ The passage in Romans is not a condemnation of homosexual behavior. Rather, it disapproves of sexual behavior that is against a person’s basic nature, it would be the same if a homosexual person went against their nature and gave themselves to someone of the opposite sex.
The Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church should be ashamed of themselves for hosting a gay-friendly prom. They should read all of the Bible. If you read Romans 1:26-32 you will find that homosexuality is forbidden, it is a sin. If you want to help gays, please help them to repent and become straight.
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