California transgender girl wins prom queen, faces bullying

In yet another example of the changing tide in American culture, a 16-year-old California transgender girl has been named prom queen at her Huntington Beach high school.

"It seemed like a dream," Cassidy Campbell tells the Los Angeles Times about her win at Marina High School. "I just think it is such a huge step for the transgender community... So many people embraced me and accept me for who I am. I think that is pretty profound."

Campbell is known for her popular boy-to-girl transformation videos on YouTube, where she shares the step-by-step act of transforming her appearance from male to female. While some of her videos raise eyebrows for their sexual overtones, she has served as an inspiration to other transgender girls struggling with their gender identity.

But Campbell's victory was bittersweet – soon after she was crowned queen, she became the target of social media bullying. A devastated, despondent and hopeless Campbell is shown in her most recent YouTube video, where she addresses the harassment she received over Twitter.

"Sometimes I wonder, is it even worth it? If I should just go back to being miserable and just be a boy, and hate myself and hate my life, just so everyone can just shut up and leave me alone," she says between fits of tears.

Despite her low spirits on Saturday, she seems to have come around, and later tells the Los Angeles Times she is feeling better.

"They were voicing their opinion about something they don't even know the full story about. I got really emotional. But when morning came, I was a lot better."

Despite the criticism, the response toward Campbell's victory has been mostly positive. Campbell's mother, Christine Campbell, is particularly supportive of her daughter's win and says the event was monumental.

"I never thought that in my lifetime I'd experience an event like this, and especially for the event to be my girl. It's been difficult, amazing and emotional all at the same time," Christine tells Reuters. "I'm so proud of her, and not just because she's my daughter."

Cassidy isn't the first transgender teen to be named prom queen. Earlier this year, it was revealed that an American girl, Devon, won prom queen without anyone knowing she was transgender. And in Canada, a small-town Ontario transgender girl was named prom queen last summer.

Do you think American culture is becoming more accepting of changes in cultural and sexual diversity? Tell us in the comments below.