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Gay Crossdressing Rights in High School

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by CarnationXXRain, Jan 30, 2011.

  1. CarnationXXRain

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    This is a very complex subject and i am not quite sure where to put this but this involves civil rights so here i go...:

    I am an officer of my schools Diversity Club(we do work from anti-racism to GSA work) and i have recently taken to the issue of a gay student at my school. He prefers womens clothing, he wears female clothing everyday. My school administrative has asked him to 'tone it down' and asked him not to wear skirts, dresses and heels after he wore a dress and leggings that fell into some question of dress code. i have advised him to stick very strictly to the dress code and we negotiated with the administrative. He IS allowed to wear jewelry, casual female clothing (jeans and shirts and jackets) and wigs (we were both overjoyed about this, he really wants to get his hair done{he is african-american}). I am rather angry and would think it totally rationale for him to wear anything he likes as long as it follows code. we have a rather liberal school for a conservative town in Michigan. i am doing everything i can to research this furthur and get my(our) way in this matter, any advice or information would be greatly apprectiated! (&&&)
     
  2. LostandFound

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    What's your goal? Do you want him to be able to wear clothes that violate the dress code?
     
  3. Enaithor

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    Surely he should just have to follow the female dress code if he's a cross dresser
     
  4. Charme

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    +1, though I personally do not approve of cross dressing.
     
  5. Zontar

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    Is "he" a genuine transgendered individual or just someone who's flaming a bit? You'll have much better luck if the former is true.
     
  6. Beachboi92

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    I think one important question is wether he is transgendered or just likes to cross dress. If he is transgendered then you probably have more of an argument for him wearing whatever he wants.

    Have you looked into the particular wording of your school/county dress code. If there is nothing saying that men can't wear women's clothing than you can actually go to the school board in your area and petition for them to form a policy for transgendered and cross dressing students.

    In order to do something like that it would be important to get in touch with all the GSA's in your school district along with other cross dressing students and supportive parents/teachers. Also i'd recommend getting in touch with organizations like GLSEN and PFLAG to see what information they have on trying to implement a policy like that.

    When my GSA worked to get an inclusive anti-bullying policy GLSEN had a lawyer assist us in the wording and getting the school board to implement it. It was also very important for us to meet individually with each of the school board members to get them on our side before going to a public meeting to request a vote on the policy.

    I imagine to get a policy for cross dressing and transgendered students is about the same. They key is having people to talk to them about why it is important to allow these students to dress in the way they feel comfortable and to have students speak from the heart to board members and really help them understand. Hopefully GLSEN can help sort through the legal issues.

    However if there is no inclusive bullying policy in place in your school district then i would work to get that done first.

    I feel like my post jumps around a lot but i hope i helped
     
  7. Revan

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    I don't want to get into an argument here, so you can msg me if you'd like, but what's so wrong with cross-dressing?
     
  8. Charme

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    I don't approve of cross dressing because it's a particular style of dress I don't like. In the same way I don't like how guys are fond of plaid shirts or how cholas love shaving their eyebrows and replacing it with Sharpie lines. It's purely based on my sense of what is aesthetically pleasing to me and not because I think it's immoral or wrong for a guy to wear girl's clothes. And I'm not saying my sense of fashion is superior to that of anyone's. I'm just saying an opinion and if you take it the wrong way, I don't really care.

    EDIT: Also, if you're not transgendered, then I don't see a reasonable need for you to cross-dress. Honestly, I think it's just because you want eyes on you (which is what having style is about).
     
    #8 Charme, Jan 30, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 30, 2011
  9. beckyg

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    You might want to change your wording. When you say "I don't approve" that comes off as judgmental. I think what you are trying to say is that it's just not for you, right?
     
  10. Charme

    Charme Guest

    I was being judgmental. So I don't see a need to change wording :slight_smile:
     
  11. beckyg

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    Well that must mean you do think it's "immoral" or "wrong".
     
  12. Charme

    Charme Guest

    Just because I don't think something is right doesn't mean I think it's wrong. And I don't find anything immoral about cross-dressing.
     
  13. zeratul

    zeratul Guest

    I think what Charme was trying to say is that we have the right to NOT APPROVE a fashion sense, and because in this case the cross-dressing is considered a fashion sense, then he can say he doesn't approve of it. Yes?

    Since when it is a crime to say you don't approve of a fashion style?
     
  14. midwestblues

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    You are aware that stating that you "do not approve" of something is the same as saying you "disapprove", right? Disapproval is based upon reasoning as to why something is wrong as opposed to personal distaste. If your only qualm with crossdressing is that you just "don't like" it, then you should have used the word "like" instead of "approve", seeing as the two words are not synonymous. I don't like celery, but that doesn't mean I disapprove of it.
     
  15. Emberstone

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    Stupid celery, all crunchy and stringy... I WILL DISPROVE OF IT FOR THE BOTH OF US!!!

    I believe in free expression, as long as it doesnt cause harm to anyone... and cross dressing is not harmful. there is a distinction between discomfort and harm.

    I am discomforted by being around people who wear half the makeup aisle on thier face at the same time, but that doesnt mean I am harmed by it, or think it is any of my buisness to tell them they cannot wear it.
     
  16. Beachboi92

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    1) cross dressing is a matter of self expression and feeling comfortable. My brother feels comfortable in sports clothing, I hate any sort of suit and love sweaters. A cross dresser would feel like i do in a suit if they where in guys jeans and feel like i do in a sweater when wearing a dress. That is how i think about it.

    2) THIS IS ALL BESIDE THE POINT this thread is not to debate wether cross dressing is something you like or dislike or wether it is cool or fashionable or acceptable. This is a thread about helping a cross dressing student in a school environment. Help the person with the thread topic don't derail it.
     
  17. yes ^
     
  18. Miss Bubbles

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    Well get a bunch of queens on a subject and it turns into a debate lol
     
  19. maverick

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    People should be able to wear whatever they want unless they are breaking the laws of indecent exposure. Whether or not other people approve or disapprove is their business. Nobody is forced to agree on fashion.

    But do students have the right to crossdress as a matter of personal expression? I think so, I don't think schools have the right to tell their students how to dress unless they have a uniformed dress code (or unless their ass/tits/junk are hanging out). Not allowing transgendered people to crossdress is cruel because it reinforces hurtful gender stereotypes and prevents those people from harmlessly alleviating gender dysphoria, which is emotionally and mentally painful.

    Crossdressers are also transgendered - transgenderism isn't limited to transsexuals, it includes transvestites and other gender variant people as well.

    Until a school official can prove to me that crossdressing is disruptive, dangerous, or otherwise harmful to the school environment, you couldn't convince me that crossdressing is a bad thing. I have to admit I have a personal bias in the situation though since I am transgendered.

    That being said, you should be willing to compromise to some degree as well, OP. The school does have a responsibility to ensure that the environment of the school isn't disrupted, and allowing the young man to wear women's clothing, but not over-the-top women's clothing, gives him the freedom to express himself as the gender he wishes while also maintaining decorum at the school.

    I'd take the deal. Blouses, jewelry, and wigs are quite a concession as far as I'm concerned. Tell your boy to save his heels for home or the club.
     
  20. Bryan90

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    Arguments like "cross-dressing" is not disruptive or it doesn't cause any harm won't hold. This is because if you are within a community of people who find it offensive, it WILL be disruptive. And if your counter-argument is those people can 'screw-themselves' because it doesn't affect them, then technically you can dress however you like and you can even choose not to wear anything because per your argument it won't 'affect' them.

    I always tell activists that if you're trying to change a behavior, you need to know what's causing it. And personally, I feel that one of the reasons why cross-dressing is frowned upon is this established notion of gender-roles. And the battle against gender-roles is not something new, and is something progressing gradually.

    Perhaps push for sexism: "Why must a boy dress a certain way or why must a girl dress a certain way?" "Why can a girl wear jeans and shorts but a boy cannot wear a skirt or dress?"

    Though I have to admit that the argument that I mentioned at the start about cross-dressing not affecting other people DO SOMETIMES give results. But it is just not a logical argument which will combat the root cause of why "cross-dressing" is frowned upon.