Homecoming king & queen canceled Oklahoma university scraps titles for gender neutral royalty titles

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There will be no homecoming king or queen at the University of Oklahoma.

Administrators at the Norman-based public university announced that the annual tradition of anointing a male and female winner during homecoming weekend will be done away with.

Instead, a more inclusive ‘gender-neutral’ pairing will be chosen as homecoming ‘royalty.’

This year’s winners are two men named Justin Norris and Reece Henry. The news was first reported by KOKH-TV.

'I’m sure there are so many students here on campus, white students, black students who have been able to look at this court and see themselves in it and just really maybe think in the future not just I can be on the homecoming court, but I can really do anything I set my mind to here at OU and people are going to support me for it,' said Norris.

The change at OU is part of a trend that has gained momentum in recent years as several high schools, colleges, and universities have ditched the old ‘king’ and ‘queen’ model in favor of a more progressive format.

In the United States, homecoming is an occasion to whip up ‘school spirit’ among students at secondary high schools, colleges, and universities.

Homecoming weekend is a festive time whereby schools stage parades, football games, and dances.

The culmination of homecoming weekend is a ‘coronation’ of a king and queen as voted on by students. The winner is often selected during the homecoming dance.

This time, though, students at OU and other colleges and high schools will be able to choose 'royals' regardless of gender.

American schools, businesses, and institutions in recent years have made efforts to become more gender-inclusive in order to accommodate gay, lesbian, and people who have in years past have been considered marginalized.

In September 2018, the West Lafayette, Indiana-based school, Purdue University, hosted its first-ever gender-neutral homecoming, crowning its own ‘royalty.’

In Chicago, Northwestern University did away with its ‘king’ and ‘queen’ - instead opting to name a ‘homecoming wildcat’ who would then choose to wear either a crown, tiara, or gender-neutral head gear at a special pep rally.

Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania bid farewell to the ‘king’ and ‘queen’ concept in favor of a ‘Guide State Forward Award’ that would be given to two students at a special ceremony in October.

Other colleges and universities that have transitioned to a ‘gender-neutral’ or ‘gender-inclusive’ homecoming are the University of Minnesota; San Diego State University; Tulane University; John Carroll University; the University of Pittsburgh; Northern Arizona University; Stony Brook University; the University of Nebraska at Omaha; and scores of high schools across the country.

In December, student groups at Dallas, Texas-based Southern Methodist University threatened to boycott homecomings unless they became ‘gender-neutral.’