Jacob Eiler

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jacob Eiler (born 1979) is a United States citizen from Indiana. He is known for being on the front wave of the controversy surrounding homosexual youth coming out while attending school. He has been active as a speaker with PFLAG. As of 2006, he is working in the internet technology sector as a web designer and consultant while pursuing a degree in computer science.

He came out to himself and friends when he was twelve, but didn't tell his parents until he was sixteen. He was estranged from his family and received little or no famillial support after that, moving in with a lesbian friend and working at a nursing home to support himself. Through out high school he was harassed by other students, prompting him to utilize the press to pressure the school to give him better protection. In his senior year, he told some friends that he intended to bring his boyfriend to prom. When this spread around the school it upset many of the students. The day before prom his car was vandalized and had "fag" carved into the paint; there were signs in neighboring houses adjacent to the high school with scriptures from the Bible against homosexuality. He filed a police report, which got picked up by the media. The Associated Press and Indiana state newspapers and television stations showed up at the prom to interview him as it was unheard of at the time for same sex couples to attend prom.

[edit] References

Associated Press. "GAY TEEN-AGER AND HIS MALE DATE SPARK CONTROVERSY AT SENIOR PROM", Louisville Courier-Journal, 1997-05-04. Retrieved on June 6, 2006.

Young, Marilyn. "Same-sex prom date: No problems", Anderson Herald-Bulletin, 1997-05-03. Retrieved on February 9, 2006. (in English)

Walsh, Jeff (September 1997). Oasis Profile: Jacob Eiler, 18, of Anderson, Indiana (English). Profiles in Courage. Oasis Magazine. Retrieved on June 6, 2006.