A Florida student says he was banned from saying the word ‘gay’ in his graduation speech, so he talked about his ‘curly hair’ instead.
Using ‘curls’ as an analogy for his sexuality, Florida class president of Pine View School, Zander Moricz, made a heartfelt speech to peers about struggling to come to terms with the style of his ‘hair’.
In a video that has now been viewed more than 8.5 million times on Twitter, he said: “I must discuss a very public part of my identity.
"This characteristic has probably become the first thing you think of me as a human being.
“As you know, I have curly hair.”
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The class president proceeded to remove his mortarboard cap and unveiled his luscious locks, resulting in fits of laughter and applause from the audience.
He continued: "I used to hate my curls. I spend mornings and nights embarrassed of them trying desperately to straighten this part of who I am. But the daily damage of trying to fix myself became too much to do.
“So while having curly hair in Florida is difficult, due to the humidity, I decided to be proud of who I was and started coming to school as my authentic self."
He also went on to say the growth of his ‘hair’ was a messy and tumultuous process; however, he’s come out the other end thanks to supportive friends and teachers of the school.
Moricz ended his speech by saying it was important for him to speak out as other curly-haired students might also make the mistake of trying to ‘adjust’ to ‘Florida’s humidity’.
The student’s emotional speech comes just a few months after the state signed the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill’, which prevents the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity from pre-school to third grade.
The controversial bill clearly states that the education of sexuality and gender identity is ‘not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards’.
If a school breaches this regulation, parents can sue.
Moricz, who will be attending Harvard University later this year, told CNN following his viral speech: "I'm angry at the Governor and I'm angry at our legislators in Florida.
"That's where my anger is directed towards, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I hold everyone a little bit accountable.
"We're all responsible to push against things like this."
Charisa Bossinakis