Amidst all the excitement about yesterday's California ruling legalizing gay marriage, it's worth remembering that reactionary heteronormativity, while on the decline, isn't going away. The interim principal of an all-girls Catholic high school in Staten Island, New York has declared that junior girls may not attend their prom next week unless they are accompanied by a male escort. Watch a local TV news report here. I know. It's almost too 1950s to be believed. Parents are pissed, while students have been barred by the school from speaking to the media. Principal Florence Bricker, what are you thinking? Don't you want your students to grow up into assertive, independent young women capable of having a great, safe night without relying on men? Or don't you?
--Dana Goldstein
