Matthew Pope is the newest homecoming king of Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas. Not a particularly electrifying announcement, except that the 17-year-old is openly gay. Even so, the news is still no surprise to those of us that are gay and know that our sexual identity has little to do with our ability to achieve the same things as everyone else does.

High school is a difficult place to be as a kid with a face full of pimples, let alone as an openly gay teen—which makes Pope’s coveted high school title an accomplishment. Homecoming titles are usually reserved for the most popular kids on campus and Pope, according to Jen Chen, wasn’t exactly the most liked kid when he came out his freshman year.

Jen Chen featured Pope in her article “The Shawnee Mission East Class of '08 Loves Its Gay Homecoming King” for The Pitch Kansas City. It’s the latest in what is sure to be a continuous thread of articles featuring the everyday lives of gay men. (Remember the recent Times Magazine article about young gay newlyweds?).

"Everyday gay" stories like Chen’s conjure up both the good and the cliché. Although Matthew Pope’s crown isn’t one many mainstreamers would imagine being given to the “gay guy” on campus, Chen’s over the top portrayal of Pope falls right in line with the old concepts of gay. Matthew is a male cheerleader with a ton of female friends, smiles excessively, back flips at games to roaring cheers, and says hi to everyone. Not a knock to Pope, but this sounds like a trite caricature to me.

The good comes in the recognition of LGBT people's lives. Our sexuality doesn't define us, it's merely a part of us. Our lives, relationships, pains, joys, and achievements are valid and deserve to be seen as they really are and not what others want them to be. What trumps Chen’s cliché is the story of how Pope came out amid harassment and tears, stayed out, and found an outlet that eventually led to his high school crown.

_{Image © Jeff Crump.}