‘I’m just happy’: LGBTQ+ community members get a second chance at prom

Rachel Billman had to attend her high school prom as a male because transgender people were not accepted at her hometown in Pennsylvania. Billman recalled getting judged for even wearing a pink vest with her suit at her high school prom.

“That feeling of being able to go to the big fancy event for the first time, right as you’re getting out of high school the experience of basically being like, ‘I’m an adult, this is my first fancy event.’ I finally get to have that as myself,” Billman said.

But on Saturday, Billman was able to attend prom as her genuine self, wearing a black dress and holding a matching black umbrella as she waited for the doors to open at Backstage Bar and Billiards for the third Second Chance Prom, held by Las Vegas TransPride.

Many other members of the LGBTQ+ community came to the prom for reasons similar to Billman. They talked about attending their high school prom as genders that they didn’t identify with, or with people they weren’t attracted to.

Ryan McQuillan and his partner, Tim Parker, were happy to have a prom they could attend without hiding their true nature. McQuillan went to high school with a girl, while Parker went with a group of friends. Both said that they didn’t have fun.

“Now I get to go with someone I would’ve wanted to ask to prom,” McQuillan said. “It feels nice that we’re finally able to do something like this because back when I was in high school, I hate to say it like this, but going as my authentic self would have been a protest statement.”

Kalvin Byrd also did not attend his high school prom as himself. This year he was named Mr. TransPride by the organization and held an auction for someone in the community to be his date to the prom, with all of the proceeds going to Las Vegas TransPride.

“It’s like being able to pick up another piece of yourself and be able to heal that. I’m just happy. I’m just warm,” Byrd said.

The experience of a prom for people who may not have had the chance to attend as their genuine selves was the point of making this event a prom, according to Jamie Lee Sprague-Ballou, the founder of Las Vegas TransPride.

‘If it helps somebody’

Multiple prom attendees praised the city of Las Vegas for being welcoming to members of the LGBTQ+ community. Many of them came to the city from other parts of the country: Billman is originally from Pennsylvania and Parker is from Mississippi. Other attendees said they came from other states including Texas and Georgia.

“Let me tell you why Vegas is so special,” Kalvin Byrd said. “As a trans man I’m gonna speak for trans men, we’re gonna be the number one destination for trans men. There are so many opportunities, resources and places like this that will open their doors for trans people.”

Sprague-Ballou founded Las Vegas TransPride in 2013 when she started to expand the yearly celebrations for Transgender Day of Remembrance that she was already holding with the Metropolitan Community Church since 2006.

Since its founding, the organization opened its Trans-Rights Center, which offers services including help filling out name-change documents, counseling, providing chest binders for people, helping find gendered clothes for people transitioning and running a food bank for anyone struggling with food insecurity.

The organization also holds multiple events for the LGBTQ+ community throughout the year.

Sprague-Ballou said Saturday’s event marked the biggest prom yet.

“I figured that if it helps somebody, even if it’s just one person it really helps, it’s all a success,” Sprague-Ballou said about the event.

Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Instagram @writermark2.