Puberty and High School are hard enough without bureaucrats second-guessing your every decision.  Now add being LGBT in America’s Deep South.  But when a Louisiana teen was told that she couldn’t wear a tuxedo to her Senior Prom, the outpouring of support from around the world was so overwhelming that the school caved in.

17-year old Claudetteia Love of the town of Monroe is an honor student and was held up by the school as a success story for its high achieving medical magnet program.  So it came as a shock when Carroll High School’s principal told her, “girls wear dresses and boys wear tuxes, and that’s the way it is.”

Claudetteia, the poster child for academic success at Carroll High, replied that she wasn’t going to go to the Formal unless she could choose her own clothing.

“They put me in all these honors and advanced placement classes so I can take all of these tests and get good grades and better the school,” said Claudetteia, “But when it’s time for me to celebrate the fact that I’ve accomplished what I need to accomplish and I’m about to graduate, they don’t want to let me do it, the way I want to.”

The story broke out all over America and around the world, with people lining up to get Claudetteia’s back.  The school decided to bend the rules and let the teen choose her own outfit – her favored tux.

“Forbidding girls from wearing a tuxedo to the prom would have served no purpose other than to reinforce the worst sorts of harmful stereotypes and censor a core part of Claudetteia’s identity,” said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.  “The school is doing the right thing by supporting its students and teaching them the value of respect and acceptance of one another’s differences.”

Claudetteia is thrilled.

“Now that I can go in my tuxedo, I am looking forward to celebrating the end of my senior year with my friends and classmates at the prom, like any other student,” the senior said.  “The outpouring of support has been incredible and inspiring.  It is a source of strength that I will keep with me as I move on the next phase of my education and life beyond high school.”

That next phase looks good, as she’s already secured a full scholarship to university.