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LOS ANGELES — An openly gay teen has been voted prom queen at his Los Angeles high school in a campaign that began as a stunt but ended up spurring discussion on the campus about gender roles and popularity.
Sergio Garcia said he felt "invincible" when he was crowned queen of the Fairfax High School dance at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday.
Days before the dance, Garcia told fellow students that he was "not your typical prom queen candidate. There's more to me than meets the eye."
He also promised that he would be wearing a suit on prom night, but "don't be fooled: Deep down, I am a queen."
And he made good of that promise Saturday, wearing a gray tuxedo topped off with the prized tiara.
Garcia, 18, said he saw fliers advertising the prom and the election but they didn't specify that the queen must be female. He thought the role would suit him better than prom king.
"I don't wish to be a girl," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I just wish to be myself."
Senior class president Vanessa Lo said she and other students were initially against the idea but became convinced he wasn't just an attention-seeking clown.
"It just goes to show how open-minded our class is," Lo said.
Unique Payne, 17, said she voted for Garcia because she supported the gay community.
Although many students were supportive of Garcia's run, others were upset and didn't understand why Garcia chose to run for prom queen.
"I'm not really happy about that," said 17-year-old Juan Espinoza. "He should've run for prom king."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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