I’m starting to lose track of what states in the US allow what kind of partnerships. Obviously Wikipedia can be trusted 100% (…), so one can look there, and now’s a good time to point out all the federal rights and protections granted to married couples, in case you’re still wondering what the big deal is.

At first, it seems like it is; if Hood is any indication, liberal arts students support GLBT efforts to stake out a place for themselves in the straight world. This projects into a future where we can imagine more and more people being a-ok for us queer folk. That’s cool. It’s a sociological indicator of where the nation is headed, yeah? Right?

…Sort of? What I found more interesting was the stats they gave: Jones won 64 out of 169 votes for Homecoming King. That’s not terribly overwhelming as a win. And from Hood’s website, there were 2,121 students enrolled at Hood in the fall of 2005. 169 total votes out of a student body of 2,121; that’s about 8% voter turnout for the King ballot. The real news here is that liberal arts students don’t give a fuck about Homecoming. And when you crunch a couple other numbers, it says 3% of students actively wanted a lesbian Homecoming King. That’s not much of a reason to celebrate.

If we want news to make us feel good about the future of GLBTs in this country, how about something more concrete? I want to see headlines like Gay man totally beats the shit out of his would-be gay-basher, or Rad lesbian does her thing in rural Alabama, or She’s brilliant, she’s post-op, she’s the Senator.

Jones deserves a better headline. She’s the homecoming king isn’t cool. A better one would be Young lesbian figures out early on how to game the system, is prepared for a richer life because of it.

(Cross-posted since it fit in both places.)