The recent crowning of Missouri teen Tristan Young as homecoming queen at Oak Park High School in Kansas City has stirred a fiery debate online.
Young, a transgender student, was voted homecoming queen by her fellow students at her school, reportedly winning over four other cisgender candidates. This marks the second occasion a transgender student has been elected homecoming queen at this school — the first being in 2015, according to multiple reports.
Chaya Raichik, who operates the Libs of TikTok account on X, formerly known as Twitter, has targeted transgender people repeatedly with the account, which commands an audience of over 2.5 million followers. Raichik vehemently criticized Young’s victory, resorting to scornful and transphobic language.
Raichik took it further in a deeply dehumanizing post featuring a photo of Young alongside the other homecoming queen contestants. She used this photo to mock and target the teenage girl, writing, “One of these people is a male with an adam’s apple who won homecoming queen in @NKCSchools and 4 others are young girls who had their dreams crushed by a man. Can you guess which one is a male?”
An article published on the Libs of TikTok substack website expressed dismay at Young’s victory, invoking inflammatory rhetoric and misgendering Young. It read, “Oak Park High School students in Kansas City, Missouri just got sent a message loud and clear: boys are just better at things than girls are. Even at being a girl. Tristan Young, a male student who identifies as a female, was crowned the homecoming queen this week. He beat out four lovely female candidates because actually identifying as the gender that you are is like, sooo 2010.”
To bolster her position, Raichik quoted anonymous parents expressing strong disapproval of the school’s decision. One parent was quoted saying, “I’m appalled by NKC Schools’ continued support of the LGBT agenda… Having two homecoming “queens” that are boys is a disgrace to the NKC Schools community.” Another supposedly lamented, “As a woman, it breaks my heart to see these girls get passed over and a man stealing what is rightfully theirs.”
While promoting the article on her Twitter platform, Raichik asserted, “A male beat all the girls and was crowned homecoming queen in a Missouri school this weekend. We spoke with 2 parents who were disgusted that the district is affirming the delusions of kids and confusing them further.”
These assertions have raised considerable eyebrows, given that Raichik, 28, insists on presenting herself as a protector of children and is going after a teenager.
Extremism and security experts have told The Advocatethat she engages in stochastic terrorism tactics by using inflammatory rhetoric that might incite individuals to commit violence. In the past, extremists have targeted institutions and people that Raichik has highlighted on Libs of TikTok.
The online furor has not been one-sided. Many have rallied in support of Young. Justice Horn, the LGBTQ Commission of Kansas City Chair, congratulated on X, writing, “I want to pause and congratulate Tristan for being crowned Oak Park High School’s Homecoming Queen! I uplift this against the transphobic comments against this young person who was named queen by their peers. I’m thankful the next generation of Kansas City is so kind.”
“Trans women have a biological advantage in being popular with their high school classmates now,” Ari Drennen of Media Matters joked in a tweet.
The debate underscored a deeper rift, exemplified by another detractor, Riley Gaines, a prominent advocate for the exclusion of transgender women in sports who scornfully commented, “So stunning & brave. Another reminder to all girls that men make the best women.”
Standing in defense of Young, an individual underscored their personal experience with Young during their school years, vehemently rejecting the idea that any narrative indoctrinated Young. “Oak Park High School was my Alma Mater. Tristan Young was my friend. I can tell you from experience that Tristan Young wasn’t indoctrinated by a narrative. She was the nicest person I’ve ever had the pleasure of performing with. You have no idea what the f*ck you’re talking about,” they wrote, responding to a bigoted comment about the transgender teen.
