Lesbian teen and her straight ally make Texas history as homecoming queen and queen

By Emily Bauucum, NBCLatino/WOAI

EAGLE PASS, TX — Instead of a homecoming king and queen, a high school in Eagle Pass, Texas crowned a queen and queen.

The two queens say it was part of a grassroots effort to support gay rights.

“I’m sure a lot of little girls always dreamed of being Homecoming Queen, but to know we were making a difference as well, it’s just amazing,” 17-year-old Eileen Hernandez says.

She and 17-year-old Jennifer Mijares are not a couple.

“I am actually a lesbian. I am,” Hernandez says.

“I’m straight,” Mijares says.

But you could call them partners.

“I was the gay one,” Hernandez says. “She was the straight one. She’s my ally.”

They’re members of the Gay Straight Alliance, a group that promotes equality at C.C. Winn High School. The seniors had a dream: homecoming queen and queen. Could it ever happen? They took the idea to the club’s sponsors.

“I was thinking, let’s do it,” co-sponsor Sonia Delgado says. “This lines up exactly with what the club is all about.”

With the club’s blessing, the girls campaigned for Homecoming Court. It did create some controversy on campus also started a conversation.

“One negative comment changed it to 10 positive comments,” Mijares says.

“If one person would try bringing us down, so many others would say no, keep your head up, what you guys are doing is awesome,” Hernandez says.

So they kept those heads up and by Friday night, both girls were wearing crowns.

“We’re just smiling like crazy,” Hernandez says. ”Tears fell down our face.”

“We were excited. We won. We won first place,” Mijares says.

“And we made a difference,” Hernandez says. They hope the sight of two homecoming queens won’t be a shock, but a reminder to classmates that everyone’s on the same team.

This article was originally published in NBCLatino.