PROM QUEENS by SARAH LISS

For a lot of queer kids in high school, the fairy-tale prospect of a conventional prom can seem like a Carrie-calibre nightmare, sans pig's blood.

Sure, prom queen poster boy Marc Hall's recent triumph made it OK for same-sex lovebirds to bring their significant others to Catholic school dances, but not everyone's comfortable being that out and proud.

"Even if you're out at a regular school that lets you bring a same-sex date, most queer youth don't want to feel like freaks at their prom," says Adina Scheim, a 15-year-old student in the Triangle Program, an alternative school for LGBT youth.

Which is why the Red Hot Pride Prom is such a fabulous -- and necessary -- thing.

Now in its seventh year, the Pride Prom, organized by Triangle and Supporting Our Youth (a queer branch of Central Toronto Youth Services), is a queer-positive end-of-year extravaganza with all the trappings of a typical grad dance.

Queer high school kids can party at the Red Hot Pride Prom.

photo by Greg Ceo/Getty Images

Scheim left her previous school because of the intensely homophobic atmosphere. "It came mostly from the administration," she explains. "They really weren't very comfortable with who I was, and I couldn't deal with that." Now part of the youth committee responsible for planning the Pride Prom, Scheim found the Triangle Program while searching for high school alternatives. "The Prom is important 'cause queer identities are normal and celebrated, not just tolerated. Everyone can be happy with who they are."

Each year over 150 queer kids and friends participate in the alcohol-free chaperoned event, which is supported by the Toronto District School Board and organized under the same guidelines as proms at other schools. However, the queen of the evening could be a glammed-up drag superstar in lucite stilettos, accompanied by a heartbreaker butch grrrl-king.

And how many schools snag celebrity hosts for their grad parties? SOY project coordinator Elisa Hatton explains that the organizers hook up great local DJs and a big-name emcee every year. Past highlights have included Sook-Yin Lee and Elvira Kurt. This year, former Alliance party leadership candidate Enza "Supermodel" Anderson runs the show.

"I'm so honoured," beams Anderson. "It'll be my first prom ever in drag!" She adds that she very nearly attended the swank prom at Upper Canada College after a bunch of boys who'd been begging for dates down on Queen West called her up.

"Then they figured out who I was and that I was going to send out a press release, and nixed the invitation."