Badpuppy Gay Today

Wednesday, 14 May 1997

At Iowa City High, where she graduated in 1994, she wore dresses and dated boys. During her senior year she was chosen at her prom as the class Homecoming Queen. Nobody quite expected that in her freshman year at the University of Iowa, she'd calmly state that she is a lesbian and begin to engage in prideful behavior which demonstrated as much; she's able to leap high, obviously adept at being seen above the leafy plains of the Iowa corn surrounding her.

Her name is Nilsa Knievel, and she's planning to take her date, Whitney Barnes, an Iowa City West High School senior, to Whitney's high school prom! Nilsa Knievel will thus enjoy the prom she missed when she played Homecoming Queen. Now she will experience the Prom of Her Dreams, in which she's accompanied by another bold young woman, her date.

Neither half of this straightforward duo really likes dresses. It was a toss up in which Nilsa won out as the woman who gets to wear the pants, a tux.

In a statement which showed their confidence in the fair-mindedness of fellow American youths, Knievel and Barnes said that they did not anticipate negative reactions from their classmates. "I think what we're doing is horribly traditional...we're a couple, we're dating and we're going to the prom," said Knievel.

The five-foot one Whitney Barnes' dress is black and ankle length. It does, however, open in the back, allowing spectators to admire her new tattoo. Among fellow students Barnes became a moving force earlier this year. She was primarily responsible for the establishment of a gay high school anti-discrimination support group at Iowa City West High. This means, she explains, that her classmates already know who she is and that it speaks well for them that they haven't harassed her. And this is why she forecasts no negative reactions on Prom Night

Nilsa Knievel, shaving her legs for this occasion, will sport a silk handkerchief with her black tuxedo, and she hopes with her attire to accomplish a "James Bond-hitman 'look.' "

Iowa City West High School is attended by nearly 1,400 students. Its principal, Jerry Arganbright, says that same-sex prom dating is nothing new for the school. "Frankly, its not been a topic of conversation," he said, expressing his hope that the prom would be well-attended.

"The more kids who come to proms the better," he explained, "We have absolutely no opinion. Kids can come alone, females can come together, males come together, heterosexuals come together--we appreciate as many kids coming to our prom as possible."

A classmate, Andrea Emmons, a West High senior and close friend to Barnes, praised Barnes and Knievel: "I think it's personally courageous of them, because (they) are making a stand. It will help people to realize that there are gays and lesbians out there and they're not going to go away and people have to deal with it in a mature manner like going to prom."