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Cross dressing student kicked out

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by Zac4, Oct 8, 2009.

  1. Zac4

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    this isn't my school but its close, few miles away

    vid
    http://www.ajc.com/video/?bcpid=1659825399&bclid=1716449804&bctid=43833485001&bcplt=917x606&bcautostart=true

    story
    http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/cobb-teen-told-he-156500.html


    Cobb teen told he can't dress like a female at school
    By Alexis Stevens

    Jonathan Escobar says he chooses to wear clothes that express himself. Skinny jeans, wigs, "vintage" clothing and makeup are the staples of his wardrobe.

    "I don't consider myself a cross-dresser," he said. "This is just who I am."

    But the 16-year-old says an assistant principal at North Cobb High School told him last week he needed to dress more "manly" for school, or consider being home-schooled. He had only been a student at the school for three days.

    "I told myself I can't accept this," said Escobar, who wore a pink wig to school last Wednesday.

    Escobar said the assistant principal told him his style of dress had caused a fight between students at the school. Two days later, he withdrew himself from the Kennesaw school.

    "You can't wear clothing that causes a disruption," said Jay Dillon, spokesman for Cobb County schools.

    Dillon said he believed Escobar arrived at school in a dress and heels. But Escobar said he never wore a dress. He says he opted for "skinny" jeans all three days with flats.

    The district lists the dress code on its homepage. The rule states that students should "refrain from any mode of dress which proves to contribute to any disruption of school functions."

    School administrators and teachers are the final judge of the appropriateness of clothing, according to the rule.

    Escobar said he moved to Cobb County from Miami to live with his older sister. His Florida school didn't have an issue with the way he dressed, but his parents did. His sister, Veronica Escobar, urged her parents to let Jonathan come to live with her. Now she says she's shocked by what has happened.

    "I didn't think they would take it this far," Veronica Escobar said.

    Jonathan Escobar says he wasn't a disruption in the classroom, but he attracted attention in the lunchroom. "Everybody was surrounding me," he said.

    On his second day of school, Escobar says he was pulled out of class to speak with a police officer who told him he was concerned about the student's safety.

    "They should've told the students to back off," Escobar said. "They should have never given me the option of homeschooling or changing who I am."

    In his short time at the Kennesaw school, Escobar apparently made quick friends. By Tuesday evening, nearly 900 supporters had joined a Facebook group called "Support Jonathan." Many were planning to purchase a bright pink T-shirt with the same phrase.

    Escobar says he wants to be allowed to attend school and eventually graduate. But he doesn't want to stifle what he calls his art.

    "If I can't express myself, I won't go to school," he said. "I want to get the message out there that because this is who I am, I can't get an education."
     
  2. Greggers

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    I really feel for the guy. Its not like he was wearing a shirt that said "Fuck Piss Shit Cunt Whore" or something. He was wearing clothes that broke gender norms because that is who he is. Its sad that they gave him an ultimatum to either conform or leave. Free expression is not something to be taken lightly. Its hard to draw lines over it because if you start with one thing you move to the next and before you know it everyone is wearing uniforms and even then it does not stop. Makeup, jewelery, hair, everything is going to be cut until everyone looks the same. Thats just how it works if you give in every time someone has a problem with a way a person looks.
     
  3. Beachboi92

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    this is very annoying to me. People should be allowed to express themselves even when people are not used to it they can get used to it. My bet is that one teacher or administrator had problems with it because of their religion or something and tried to make excuses to get the kid kicked out or force him to change. First of all asking him to "dress more manly" is insulting and the fact that they think he is disrupting things dressing like that is just infuriating. At my school a kid dressing like that may have to deal with some issues from other kids and at first would seem to stand out but eventually he would just be another kid they need to give the school time for him to adjust and time for him to transition into the school.
     
  4. starfish

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    I don't see how that is in anyway Escobar's fault.
     
  5. Holy hell, I friggon live in Cobb County and I hadn't heard about this until now! Where the hell have I been!?

    I think if a female can get away with wearing the clothes he does, then there should be no reason why it's a disruption when he wears it. You know there's a girl somewhere in that school walking around with a boys shirt on, or boy shoes, or boy pants. And yet he can't wear girl shirts, girl shoes, and girl pants? Come on.

    This reminds me of when I was growing up, and any one of my girl friends could play with my G.I. Joe, but I couldn't play with her Barbie. Double standards drive me crazy.

    If the school seriously thinks this is a problem, they should rework their budget to enforce a uniform policy so there's no freedom of expression for anyone. That's their goal with this, right?
     
  6. RaeofLite

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    Poor guy. :frowning2:

    I wear androgynous wear or business stuff that's sometimes geared towards almost male type, just to throw some interesting stuff into my wardrobe with tie, shirt, slacks etc.

    But I feel for this guy. No one should have to be put through this. Even by adults, simply because they're uncomfortable. It's not like he walked into the school with a gun and started shooting, but perhaps that's what the security/police are worried about will happen with some other student that doesn't like it..
     
  7. Just Adam

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    the only problem i could find with his clothing is the pink wig as they are bright! so now all i can picture is this kid sat in class with a pink wig...

    apart from teh wig which is a little ott i see nothgin wrong with his desire to express himself im sure other students do in their ways guys can look good in makeup and female clothing... as people said its only stupid gender bounderies that society has placed on us... all you have to say about makeup think of your favourite person in a movie or on tv...they wwear makeup for beeing on screen and theres nothign wrong with that.. i dont think i would dress in vintage by old fashioned clothes and a pink wig and makeup...but i wouldent stop someone else doing it if it made them happy. they should take him back to school appolagize and if anyoen has a problem its their problem they need to be talked to about growing up and beeint tolelrant of others. we have to be tollerant of peoples beliefs and religions and religious garments and yet outside thos things people are still victamised for how they look ...sad :frowning2:
     
  8. LeonaRose

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    See, this is why I hate high school. College is so much better. They treat you with respect there. High schools just go 'oh we fight for equality to make our school better for people... you're a guy in a dress, get out.' Um, what? Fuckin idiots, I praise Escobar for not going to school, they teach you worthless shit anyway most of the time.
     
  9. Miss Bubbles

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    People are just so stupid. Maybe I should see how my school would react if I wore girls clothes. I mean dress and everything. Cuz boys wear girls pants but I wanna see how they deal with a true cross dressing queer.
     
  10. Brad

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    Hmm.. Not to sure what to really say.

    I don't see how anything he wore anything that conflicts with this rule. If he wore make up so thick he couldn't see or heels so high he couldn't walk from class to class or t-shirts with phrases inciting discrimination or hatred then i could understand it but simply not conforming to the norm (the norm being the majority of students there) does not mean that he should essentially be forced out of the school.


    Over here in Australia things like this don't really come about. With school uniforms in place students don't wear things like heels/make up/wigs (although these rules get trampled more and more these days) regardless of their gender so i am not aware of any things like this that have come up over here.
     
  11. haelmarie

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    He wore a pink wig. This is not some person experimenting with gender ambiguous clothing . This is attention whoring.

    The fact that he calls it "his art" is nauseating.
     
  12. sexyalex

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    Its so sad. I dont know why people have to be like that. Its not nice.
     
  13. Greggers

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    I dont understand, are you saying a guy wearing a wig is not blurring gender lines, and that because its not a natural color its not art?

    I know lots of girls with pink hair, they dont get called attention whores. I assume they do it because they dont want to blend in or they like coloring. Id apply the same logic to this guy.
     
  14. haelmarie

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    The fact that anyone calls cross-dressing art is bizarre.

    Where do we draw the line?

    I'd expand on this, but frankly it's a huge subject and I'm not sure anyone would read it. If you're interested in my reasoning, leave a message on my wall and I'll get back to you.
     
  15. Emberstone

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    who is he really hurting by dressing the way he likes?

    This is what I hate. People act like they are harmed by people dressing differently. So he likes to dress effiminatly, how does that harm you and prevent you from living your life?

    It is not hurting anyone... and as for the fight... well, it is the intolerent fault of the people fighting over it for getting themselves worked up about something that has no real effect on them.
     
  16. Ty

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    Attention whore.
     
  17. Danielle

    Danielle Guest

    Who cares if it is attention whoring or exploring gender? I personally don't.
     
  18. 19rockr

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    OMFG! Are freakin serious? People can't do this...it's against Freedom of speech. People are so gung-ho about the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, but they seem to have forgotten that OUR Founding Fathers wanted equality for all. They didn't feel the way the King of England was treating them was right, so they decided to start the American Revolution. What about the Gettysburg Address? Abraham Lincoln didn't like how the Union[the North] and the Confederates[the South] were fighting over whether or not they should have slaves. Abraham wanted the slaves to be free, because he too, like our Founding Fathers, believed in Freedom and Equality for all, and he saw that the South were being hypocritical, so he made the Emancipation Proclamation to free them. That's exactly what these people are doing: being HYPOCRITICAL! And I don't like that. And in case you haven't noticed, some people walk arounf high school with mohawks, brightly dyed hair, and they dont call that a disruption to school functions. I think they just used that as an excuse to cover up their discomfort. Ugh, this makes me sooooo mad when people do this. We should all make a petition for better equality for all, and that would have to include us in the GLBT Community. I'm all for it!
     
  19. Mitchell

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    This is sad. Be who you want to be, and screw everyone who says differently.
     
  20. Chip

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    It's possible he was seeking attention. But school administrators are supposed to realize that attention-seeking behavior is extremely common among teens; God knows if they suspended every student guilty of attention-seeking behavior, they'd have to suspend half the school.

    While I can understand their saying that perhaps his dress went over the line and they were concerned it would cause disruption, I think they could have dealt with it in a much more considerate way... and I also doubt that every potentially disruptive behavior involving dress or appearance warrants suspension, and that's where the rub lies.

    It's probably safe to say, given that it is the south, that there are still some people who are afraid of things that are different than what they're used to. And I suspect at least some of the justification for the suspension arises as a result of that fear on the part of the administrators, whether or not they consciously recognize it.