The truth of a situation is oftentimes nothing more than the obvious.
Lawrence King, who was murdered during class last year at the age of 15 by a 14-year-old classmate was partly blamed for his own death because he fought his parents and school officials over his right to dress in a way that reflected his emerging adolescent persona of choice. Larry's father went on record blaming his son for being too gay and therefore "asking for it".
At historical and prestigious all-men's Morehouse College, gay students have been censored for wearing women's apparel.
A lesbian high school senior is being threatened with expulsion for insisting on wearing a men's tuxedo for her yearbook picture.
A Georgia teen is under fire by school officials for dressing "like a female".
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Jonathan Escobar says he chooses to wear clothes that allow him to express himself, nothing more, nothing less. 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 recently wore a pink wig to school.
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. Within days 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."
America. Get over it. I've got some big bad news for you. Larry King and now Jonathan Escobar are as normal as the high school jock, the goth girl, the college preppy in his button down and the geek with his pocket protector. And as gay kids more and more emerge and come out at earlier and earlier ages, they will manifest the same behavior and explorations as every other high school kid, regardless of sexual orientation.
News Flash: Jonathan Escobar is not special, queer or fringe; he is an ordinary teenager struggling to find himself--and no different from the high school jock sporting a football jersey.
As gay emerges and becomes normalized, more "types" will join the already long list of adolescent costumes that prowl the halls of our schools and have since at least my teenage years. The James Dean rebel, the Glamrocker, the punk, the Goth, the Preppy, the Cheerleader and the Jock will be joined by the Boy George, the queer radical and lesbian lumberjack. It is who we are as kids and partly how we mark our territory, define our emerging personalities and find ourselves.
And if schools are going to single out the gay types, they had better single out the jocks in their jerseys and the Christian Promise Keepers in their slightly too long hemlines. The alternative is uniforms and one could argue for that and many schools do, but calling out Jonathan Escobar in a school that does not require uniforms is bigotry, child abuse and discrimination: nothing more and nothing less.
Amen to that Richard.
Posted by: Alan down in Florida | Tuesday, 20 October 2009 at 12:32 PM