Trans student, elected Homecoming Princess as a prank, vows to wear crown anyway

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A local student has vowed to fulfill her Homecoming duties after learning her election might have been a prank.

Cass Steiner says she was voted by her peers as the sophomore Homecoming Princess at Mariemont High School.

“Originally, I was really, really, really excited,” Cass said. “Just the thought that I had a chance to make history here.”

That excitement continued after Cass got home, where her family helped her celebrate.

“I was absolutely thrilled and was really excited to understand and learn that our daughter was going to be the very first trans princess at Mariemont and perhaps even in the city,” said Cass’s mother, Katt Steiner.

The next day, a school counselor sat Cass down to talk to her about some of the votes she received.

“She had gotten calls and texts from parents saying that this could have been part of a mean-spirited joke,” Cass recalled. “It kind of brought down my spirits a little bit.”

Said Katt, “It was a complete 180 as a parent. Your heart just breaks.”

The family says school officials called them to apologize and ask if Cass would like to opt out of the Homecoming court. Cass said she would do no such thing.

“I think it’s really empowering because finding myself as a whole was really hard, but now that I’m here and a better version of myself, I’m so much happier,” Cass said. “People in my class and peers have noticed that.”

Cass says it’s not easy being comfortable in your skin when you’re viewed as different from everyone else. She says her support system has helped her overcome her self-doubt.

“It was probably from my mom,” Cass explained. “She kind of built me up with this confidence, and yes, she named the precautions and what might be happening, but I was willing to take the head to head.”

Cass says that while a few students thought it would be funny to make a joke of her, many of her peers have shown a lot of support for her actions.

“I don’t think that it was truly a joke,” Cass said. “I think that part of it really was genuine and that a lot of people have my back and do support me. That’s what gives me hope.”

Mariemont High School officials have not returned FOX19′s request for comment as of this writing.

The Mariemont Homecoming Parade is scheduled for Friday at 5:30 p.m. Her family asks her supporters to come cheer her on.

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