Past Topics:
August 7, 1998 A Song with possible CDing Lyrics
This Week's Topic: Crossdressing at School Date: August 16, 1998 Often enough you hear in the news that a teenager was thrown out of school for dressing "inappropriately", be it a Co-Ed naked shirt, or a gang/drug/gun promoting shirt. Thrown into this little mix are sometimes those teenage boys for whatever their reason to, choose to -gasp- wear a dress to school.
I was watching the local news one day, some several months ago (yes, i Do watch the news) and there was this story about this local boy who had been expelled from school because he wore a dress. It was a legnthy skirt, actually, of varied earth tones that reminded me of a characteristical hippie skirt that this young african-american teenager wore "as a statement" he said to the reporter, while sitting on the edge of his couch in a womanly housedress. His mother supported him, and they went against the school. I never saw a follow-up story.
Only recently before that news program had that situation hit close to home.
A friend of mine, actually an ex boyfriend of mine whom i will call Josh, always hinted to me that he had crossdressing tendencies. Soon enough, word around school was that some freak boy was wearing adress. I sought him out that day and caught him right before lunch, tugging at his arm i whispered, "you look sexy," and he just smyled. He was getting a lot of nasty comments from some jocks at our school and other people, but truth be known he had many as i who complimented him on both his bravery and sense of style.
Josh went on to wear a dress to school one other time, without much notice than the time before. Neither time did he have trouble with the school.
A similar scene had been acting itself out for over a year at another nearby school, i soon found out. A kid i will call Jim. Though Jim was known for being a little on the "odd" side, and got his kicks through listening to the industrial/goth-ish/death metal band Marilyn Manson. Jim had a fondness for the bassist who goes by the stage name Twiggy Ramirez and who is often seen donning a red little girl dress. The school never kicked Jim out. However, jocks were known to kick him when he was down.
It does seem that peer pressure is what gets to people every time, ya know. The jocks feeling threatened by a boy in a dress, a boy threatened by the comments of peers. Even school officials having pressure from the parents to intervene. It is sad that one feels obligated to the majority. It's also sad that a school deals with teenage boys in dresses the same way they would deal with one who wore clothes promoting death and violence and illegal activity. Not just sad, just stupid and illogical. but nobody said we lived in a sane world.