Feature
- Mental Health Screenings Not Necessary in Abortions
- The Burqa Ban is ON!
- Middle-Class Moms and Alcoholism: A Rising Epidemic?
- Murderous Moms: The Peters Tragedy
- Does Being a Pear-Shape Affect Long-Term Memory?
- Is Joan Rivers a Matriarch of Feminism?
- Mother-Murdering Teen Addresses the Media From Jail
- Forget Ron Burgundy ... Anchorladies on the rise!
- Celebrate! Argentina Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage!
- Saudi Group Using “Prophet of Four” Concept to Control Women
One female high school senior is causing quite a stir at her school because of her choice of attire for her senior yearbook photo. School officials are going so far as to refuse to put the young woman’s photo in the school yearbook because her outfit is so offensive. What did this girl do to create such a controversy? She wore a tuxedo for her school photo. Yes–that’s right, a woman wore a man’s outfit. It’s obscene!
The student, Caera Sturgis, is an openly gay teen, who said that when she tried on “the drape” (a.k.a. that silly v-shaped swath of fabric that female high school seniors are sometimes forced to wear for their Glamour Shots-esque senior photo) but it “looked ridiculous” so she put on a tux, the only other approved outfit choice. The principal at her school, Wesson Attendance Center, is now refusing to put her photo in the school yearbook simply because she chose to wear pants over a piece of velvet fabric. And why should the principal let this girl be seen wearing a man’s costume? No woman has ever been allowed to leave the house wearing a man’s outfit. Never, ever, ever. It’s an abomination!
But, let’s face it, this isn’t just about a woman wearing a traditionally male outfit. I would be surprised if this principal refused to put a photo of a straight, feminine-looking girl in a tux in the school year book. In fact, the school has nothing against boys and girls dressing in drag: the school sponsors a “Backwards Beauty and Beau” pageant where the boys dress as girls and the girls dress as boys. (What a wacky concept!) The principal’s decision to not run Caera’s photo probably has a lot to do with the fact that she is an openly butch lesbian. The principal doesn’t want Caera to feel comfortable in her own skin and he definitely doesn’t want her to feel comfortable with her sexual identity. Denying her entry into the school yearbook, the only real power that he has, is a way for him to practice his oppression of Caera. Homophobic and oppressive heteronormative cultural structures are designed to make gay people feel uncomfortable about their sexuality because these cultures believe that it will make a gay person straight, or “normal,” therefor posing less of a perceived threat to their heterosexual-based society. However, it never works that way, instead it just makes gay people feel worse about themselves and their identity, causing them to have low self-esteem, turn to drugs or alcohol or turn to self-harm. In fact, suicide is the number one cause of death among gay teens. Caera is lucky that she has a supportive mother who is willing to fight the school against their blatant discrimination against her daughter. The principal’s decision to not run Caera’s photo just illustrates the hostile environment that gay teens sometimes grow up in, and these are the adults, guardians and supposed role models we are talking about. Hopefully Caera won’t let this incident dash her surprising wealth of self-confidence.
-
-
63
var feedback_widget = new GSFN.feedback_widget(feedback_widget_options);
I notice she had no problem wearing lipstick.
and?
Duh you twat. she’s a lesbian not transgendered. She can wear lipstick if she wants
Assuming this article is correct she’s a lesbian, not transgender. There’s no reason why she should dress as a man for a formal portrait that has a clear dress code. She might not like it but I’m sure most of the other girls weren’t totally enamored with it either but it sounds like she’s the only one that needed to make a stink. I know plenty of lesbians and none of them would have a problem with putting on a dress should the occasion require it.
It’s one thing to host a “Backwards Beauty and Beau” pageant, those are usually for charity. She’s not doing this for charity, it’s just a personal gripe. She was clearly open to wearing the dress since she tried it on but she decided she didn’t like it. This isn’t a gay issue, it’s a teen thinking things should always go her way and being a brat about it issue. We had to wear black skirts and white button down shirts for graduation. Did we whine about it? No we didn’t. Walking is a privilege, not a right, as is appearing in the yearbook.
Just because she isn’t transgender doesn’t mean she can’t feel uncomfortable and ridiculous in a dress.
If part of her butch, lesbian identity is that she only really feels comfortable in traditionally masculine clothes, then she shouldn’t be forced to wear very feminine clothing. She still looks smart and has presented herself well, making sure she stuck to the dress code, so what’s the issue?
Whats the big deal? So she wanted to wear a tux in a photo, last time I checked it was a free country. So she can wear a tux, a dress, a clown costume if she really wants to!
Give the girl some credit for having the guts to stand up for herself, something that’s not so easy to do in high school.
Not if the school has set forth some kind of specific dress code for their senior photos.
Hey….Mississippi has not changed at all…..
i’m wearing pants right now! *gasp* quick, remove my photo from stuff!
hahaha agreed. Think of the children!
Dumb. If they wanted to have her wear the other thing, they should have told her up front ‘either you wear this, or no picture.’ Not let her do what she pleased then they a fit ages LATER. Make up your mind, school.
Also, I personally think I would look sexah in a tux.
Her sexual orientation is completely irrelevant. People should be able to wear what they want to wear provided no one is hurt or threatened to be. I’m fairly certain that tuxedos aren’t dangerous and don’t encourage violence :-/
It is almost 2010, can we please the f— over this stuff already?
Sometimes I really have trouble believing that this is a feminist site when I read the comments.
If there were two options of clothes to wear in the photo (which seems silly, but beyond the point) then she should be able to choose whatever one she likes, regardless of her gender. Why should she have to wear the dress? Regardless of whether other lesbians have agreed to wear dresses in the past, they should not be ostracized for refusing to do so. That is ridiculous.
And who gives a damn if she wears lipstick? Are lesbians restricted to acting entirely masculine or feminine? Let the girl wear whatever she wants, regardless of which gender is supposed to wear what.
Agreed.
It’s a dress code. They’re not asking her to wear a dress every day of her life, they’re asking her to abide by the rules for one fucking time, put on the hideous little thing and get on with it. I bet the other girls don’t like it either but they just put it on.
If there is two things you are allowed to wear though, why can’t you choose the tux?
Err I think it’s the velvet thing for girls and the tux for lads.
Agreed. Is she the only lesbian in her school? I think not but the others put the dam thing on so why couldn’t she? She had no problem putting on the makeup so why not the gown? A pic is 5 SECONDS of your life. What a crybaby.
Just to be clear, I don’t think it’s an actual dress.
My high school had the same kind of drapes, they just go right over what ever you are wearing and look like a shirt in real life.
They only look like a dress in the picture, same with the tux.
They are pretty horrid though.
School staff & boards so often make a fuss about the most trivial things.
Well their attitude is that if they make an exception for one person then they have to make it for anyone and they won’t be able to enforce any rules at all. What’s next? Will students whine about gym uniforms? Or homework infringing on their life? These things quickly spiral out of control.
LOL @ this article being based entirely on a huge assumption
Maria-Mercedes I challenge you to make a post that is totally devoid of wildly assumptive personal attacks
What a stupid article. Really, María Mercedes. I mean – they’re not making her walk around with a pink L on her chest. They’re just asking her to abide by the dress code chosen by the school for once in her life. The girl is being a brat by refusing to abide by the dress code and most importantly, we are using her sexual option to condone her whims. She has decided she’ll put on the tuxedo and and now we’re all screaming “homophobia”. I am sick of this. I have to take pictures for my University yearbook and believe me, I would never be seen with that velvet thing, which is rather hideous, but I know it’s just for once. However, if I were THAT unhappy with it, instead of insisting of insisting being taken pictures with a hoodie, I would speak to my classmates, check whether they agree, and then talk to the headmaster and ask them to change the dress code.
See, whether it’s against the rules or not depends on the wording of the dress code. You can’t rightfully say she’s being a brat just because she chose something that appeared to be allowed, despite its being an alternate option.
And it’s not like you have to be lesbian to feel more comfortable* in a tux than an ugly drape thing. There are plenty of girls at my school that, though not being LGBT, would gladly wear a tux for a picture.
*The whole point: She was more COMFORTABLE this way.
Formal photos have nothing whatsoever to do with comfort
I’m sure I’m gonna get slammed for this but let me remind you all that this is high school not college and these kids are all minors who don’t have the same rights as adults. High schools have rules for a reason, they are trying to enforce order and discipline, they aren’t there to torture anyone. What this girl does on her own time is her business but if the school has a dress code for classes or pictures she should just follow it then when she goes off to college she can do as she pleases and dress how she likes. I really don’t understand why people have such a hard time following rules and have to make a big stink every time something doesn’t go their way. This is why we have so many spoiled, entitled young people running around thinking the world owes them something. High school is 4 years of your life, get over it! I had to wear a stinking ugly ass uniform every day of high school but did I whine about it? NO. I’m sure there were gays in my high school class, but did they whine about wearing a skirt every day? NO. GROW UP!!!!
However, they did allow her to take the picture in the tux and then fussed about it afterwords.
If they’d said no at the time of the picture I do not think this would be as big of a deal.
I was thinking that too, then I remembered when my daughter went for her Senior picture this summer. She went to an approved studio to get the pictures done. So, the studio is being paid to take the picture and you buy the package. Later on, the school gets the photos and approves them or not.
This may be like that. If it is, then the school had nothing to do with the picture taking process.
This. I am inclined to say she’s being a brat, but the fact is, they let her take the picture in a tux. That gives the implication that they don’t care. If they really cared, they’d say ‘no’ and that would be the end of it.
but whoever was actually taking the picture was probably not the principal of the school, so he probably only got to see the picture after, like when he was approving the final look of the yearbook or something like that.
Read Alzaetia’s comment, think the high school only see the pictures after they have been taken.
No school I know about did that….my senior pictures were taken in the school by a hired photographer. We were mailed a list of things we could and could not wear, and told not to break the rules. The photographers were informed of the rules, and even if they were nowhere near a school administrator, they could have said ‘you can’t wear that.’ Or if the photographer is too stupid to follow directions, they should have told her to go take another one. There’s no excuse for simply pulling it at the time they did. If it meant that much to them, they should have avoided it or fixed it before it became a huge issue. If they are too incompetent to do that, they should have left it in there, and made up a new rule for all the following years stating ‘GIRLS MAY NOT WEAR TUXEDOS.’
Mine were the same way.
We were mailed a list of what to wear with outfit changes and such. The pictures were taken in our school’s auditorium so obviously they were hired by the school. If they were not hired by the school then I really think the school is at fault for not listing all the rules they wanted the students to comply with.
I totally agree, a lot of the younger crowd (that I am familiar with) seem to have this huge sense of entitlemnet.
I’m getting really bored with this whole line of argument. Oh noes, some teenager isn’t being supported in feeling comfortable in her skin, the humanity!
Seriously. It’s not homophobia, she’s just not being coddled and pandered to. Besides, one easy solution: Uniforms. There, problem solved.
Perhaps if schools spent less time on these types of issues, they’d actually have time to teach the students and then maybe we wouldn’t have 1 in 7 adults who are illiterate and maybe our kids would enter college knowing how to study and perform.
All the time and energy being spent making sure everyone looked teh same for a yearbook photo could certainly be used for the greater good in the classroom.
I was just reading that several COLLEGE football players have a second grade reading level. Now that is really sad. Schools spending too much time spent on political correctness and sports and not enough time on math and reading….
Remove “spent”. Dammit.
A couple girls have worn tuxes in their senior pictures at my school. The administration never had any problem with it.
I see all these comments about her being a ‘crybaby’ and that she needs to suck it up. Yes, the photo is just ‘five seconds of her life’ but it’s her SENIOR PHOTO. It’s the only one she’s getting in the year book (minus whatever clubs she’s in, or candid shots etc.) but it’s her LAST YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL. Why can’t she wear a tux? She’s obviously adult enough to choose between the two, and did they even SAY that ‘THIS IS A MUST. NO GIRLS DO THIS.’ I highly doubt it, probably because they’ve never had this situation occur before. But, now that it has, why is it such a big flippin’ deal that she’s wearing a tux? She looks good, she’s smiling and hey, at least she’s not wearing nothing or wearing something offensive.
I don’t agree with the way that this article was written, considering it just seems like the the school is the devil itself. They might just think she was making a mockery of the whole thing, rather than simply choosing to dress in more comfortable attire to her way of life, and more likely than not if she and her mom fight the school, they’re going to win. Rightly so, I think. Whatever the case, the whole thing is being made a spectacle for no reason.
And how often do you actually look at the yearbook after you leave school? I know it seems like a big deal at the time but I don’t recall my hubby ever looking at his and I met him a few months after HS finished. I flicked through mine once then put it away, I think it’s currently in the bottom of our linen closet with some other papers that I feel I should probably keep but really don’t care about. So yeah, it’s 5 seconds of her life and I bet in 10 years time she’s going to look back on this and wonder why she made such a fuss about something so inconsequential.
Agreed. I never got a yearbook freshman through junior years in high school, but my mom insisted I get one for senior year because of all the precious memories or some crap like that. I’ve looked at it maybe twice since then, and that was like three and a half years ago. At this exact moment, I couldn’t even tell you what I was wearing in my senior photo.
I’ve looked at all of my mom’s yearbooks. There’s a reason right there. I absolutely love looking at old yearbooks, and mine are something I’d love to share with my kids some day.
I don’t think this is inconsequential at all. Yes, the tux in the school picture is inconsequential, but the CHOICE to wear that tux is not. In ten years, she might not care a bit about her high school year book, but I bet she’ll be damn proud for standing up for herself.
I keep thinking of the 30 Rock episode where Liz Lemon is the only girl on the football team…
To an adult or young adult (unsure of the age thing going on here, but I’m going to throw my neck to the sword and say Rhonda is a fairly young wife.) yes, perhaps looking back on a yearbook is rather inconsequential–But to a senior just getting out in to the world, it may not be as useless as it’s being passed off. And as Abbi says, these yearbooks are something to share with next generations, regardless of whether or not you really care for them now. I hope to high Hell and back that when I’m old, I can look at my school yearbooks and share the memories with my kids and even my grandchildren one day. And hers is, as it seems, a small piece of history. To stand up for your right (let’s face it: Regardless of what age you are, there is nothing ‘bratty’ about sticking up for yourself. No one really got anywhere by conforming just because it’s the easy thing to do.) It is her right to wear what she wants. Is it a private school that she’s denying to wear the uniform? No. Is she throwing a hissy fit because she didn’t get to wear something she wants? I don’t think so. The larger issue here seems to be that she is, in fact, unable to wear a tuxedo because she’s a girl. Just going off my high school years (for a laugh) I can guarantee that if a boy had decided to wear the girl’s drape, he would be the best class clown in history and remembered as such, or he would be ‘brave’ for choosing to wear something that better suits him. But in this situation, she’s being denied because….Why, exactly? (That really wasn’t sarcasm. I’m not understanding the issue the principal has here.)
At my high school we could dress as we wanted. At the time, I thought I looked GOOD. Now? I regret my hair, my clothes and most importantly my weight. So I choose my attire and I’m hating it. However, it’s stacked in the back of a shelf.
To me this sort of thing seems really weird because living in New Zealand most high schools have uniforms and even the ones that don’t aren’t overly strict (My sister and one of my friends have both been to schools where a male student cross dressed) is it normal for American schools to make such a huge deal over something like this?
It just seems a little on the ridiculous side.
So she wore a tux, big deal. Unless it was stated before hand that under no circumstance could a female student wear the tux then it should really be a non issue.
It’s pretty common for American students to have incredibly lax dress codes and whine about their poor wittle individuality being stifled, yes. It’s also common for schools to make up ridiculous rules that either serve no purpose or try to avoid a danger that doesn’t exist.
In America Miss Malice people tend to go overboard so if you allow one person to do something someone else tries to top it and the whole thing quickly spirals out of control so schools try to enforce same-ness for the sake of avoiding problems. I really wish our schools would just go with uniforms to put an end to all the controversy. We have kids getting shot at school fighting over sneakers and other such stupidity so it’s for the best.
Sounds kind of like America needs to take a big ole chill pill.
No wonder so many Americans love it here…
No, Suri – we just like to visit.
I’d choose Ireland or Spain anyday.
Not Suri, sorry. That was intended for Miss Malice.
I’ve been through private Christian schools since preschool, and I have NEVER been made to wear a uniform. I had to abide by a dress code that I thought was monstrously unfair, of course, but at the very least it wasn’t a uniform. I am eternally grateful for that. I was still able to express my individuality through my clothing, which was pretty awesome, and we never had any major controversy (unless you count the Vice Principal’s daughter getting away with dressing like a slut on a near-daily basis).
Been living in the UK for a while, and ALL schools have uniforms, except some very exclusive ones. Kids get to show their individuality through some other ways.
With the exception of some very strict private schools there’s usually a great deal of flexibility in uniforms anyway. My uniform in primary school was either a black, navy, or grey skirt or black pants with either a white button down shirt (polo shirts were fine) or the school sweatshirt which came in red, blue, or grey. In high school we had to wear a black or navy skirt with a white shirt and tie. No real restriction on skirt length or style (they tried to complain about crinkle skirts one year but the students spoke out in favor of them) and we could wear pretty much any jacket we wanted, carry any bag, and we could wear jewelry so long as it was discreet and tasteful e.g. no bulky rings or large dangling earrings.
My friend went to a very expensive private school and they had much stricter uniforms including summer and winter skirts and a blazer and everything right down to swimsuits and tights had to be purchased at a specific retailer. However, in their final year they were allowed to wear pretty much whatever they liked to school so long as they’re legs were covered so short skirts with opaque tights were fine but not insanely short and not with bare legs.
Meh. If you can’t express your individuality while wearing a uniform or following a dress code, do you really have that much individuality to express in the first place, honestly? I’m not pro-uniform, but as someone who had to deal with them…..they’re not that bad. People with ‘monsterously unfair’ dress codes are, honestly, usually whining, IMO.
Yeahg, there ARE other ways to express one’s individuality, but you know what? I love fashion. A lot. Therefore my clothing happens to be one of my primary media for self-expression. I’m not gifted in music, or art, and in high school there wasn’t a whole lot I could do with my writing (no literary magazine, one poorly put-together newspaper). So I appreciated being able to wear things that I wanted to wear even if some of the dress code rules were asinine. If you want to think me a whiner, fine.
I love fashion a lot as well…if I had my way, I’d be a fashion designer. And somehow, that never suffered from a dress code or a uniform. And I think that since most dress codes in the US are either uniforms or INCREDIBLY lax, I doubt almost everyone’s claim that their rules were ‘unfair.’ If you could wear jeans at all to school, you really are in no position to complain.
Then again, you could always try to just BE an individual, as opposed to proving it by being ‘artsy’ or some other generic, stereotypical ‘unique’ trait. Why does everyone feel this urge to PROVE that they are an individual? You would still be an individual if you weren’t published or hadn’t painted a picture.
I don’t know what part of America that you live in, Suri – but it is absolutely nothing like that here! The last time I heard of a tennis shoe (or Starter jacket or whatever) shooting was in the ’90s, and it didn’t happen in a school setting, either. I’d really appreciate a link to that. Thank you.
This whole argument has spiraled out of control.
You want everyone to look the same? REALLY?
You think that this will solve the problems in schools? REALLY?
You can laugh at this all that you want, but I would like you all to go back and read the Declaration of Independence AND The Bill of Rights. Just because we’re talking about a minor here does not make them less of a human being.
The bare facts are this: A school official has made a choice for the student that belonged to the kid and her parents. There was absolutely NO reasoning for banning this picture other than someone’s tiny little mind was offended. PERIOD!
This disgusts me….
Though I must say she does looks like a boy in the pic…
not that that would be a problem.
It doesn’t make sense how this post has started arguments about uniforms. This is for a picture. Guys don’t wear tuxedos to school. Girls don’t wear odd drape shirt things to school, nor fancy dresses.
I can’t believe that this kind of stuff is still going on today i meant it’s the 20th century for god sakes!!! whats so wrong with a female wearing a tux it’s not like she is wearing some thing offensive. people like this Principe is the reason why hate toward the GLBT community is still around, they have no room for change and it is just plain ignorant!
21st century…