Oh geez. Earlier this week the headteacher at Rocky Mountain Jr.High in Utah's Weber School District, Craig Jessop, told 14-year-old Gavin McFarland that he was not allowed to wear his kilt to school because somebody might think, god forbid, that McFarland was... dare I say it, cross-dressing.
According to an article from the San Francisco Chronicle:
Weber School District officials are having Jessop issue an apology to McFarland because, they state, "We certainly do not consider wearing a kilt, especially for a school project, as cross-dressing,... We recognize the kilt as a display of Scottish heritage."
They further stated that "the district recognizes the kilt as an expression of the boy's Scottish heritage" and feel that "the kilt was not inappropriate."
But it would have been if it wasn't an expression of his Scottish heritage? What if it was a skirt? Do they send all of the little girls home for wearing pants, too?
It's a wonder to me that the incident itself was so clearly fueled by transphobia, abusive and repressive gender stereotypes, genderism, and homophobia. And, while it's an educational opportunity about how everyone can be hurt and teased by all of the above, those underlying themes are just further fueled by this offended response in fierce defense of masculine Scottish identity. The kilt is not a skirt! How offensive!
One article calls this an "educational opportunity", which it is. But apparently only about how masculine kilts are and not the underlying transphobia that caused the incident in the first place.
As M. Dunn puts it in Kilts and Cross-Dressing and Utah (oh my!),
Kilt creates a stir, then an educational opportunity Standard Net
Utah school forces student to change out of kilt San Francisco Chronicle
According to an article from the San Francisco Chronicle:
"Gavin says he wore the kilt twice in the past two weeks to Rocky Mountain Junior High as a prop for an art project. Jessop told the boy that the outfit could be misconstrued as cross-dressing."This whole situation created stir enough - 98.6% of it about being horribly offended that the kilt was mistaken as a skirt, and, therefore, is a dire offense to Scottish tradition.
Weber School District officials are having Jessop issue an apology to McFarland because, they state, "We certainly do not consider wearing a kilt, especially for a school project, as cross-dressing,... We recognize the kilt as a display of Scottish heritage."
They further stated that "the district recognizes the kilt as an expression of the boy's Scottish heritage" and feel that "the kilt was not inappropriate."
But it would have been if it wasn't an expression of his Scottish heritage? What if it was a skirt? Do they send all of the little girls home for wearing pants, too?
It's a wonder to me that the incident itself was so clearly fueled by transphobia, abusive and repressive gender stereotypes, genderism, and homophobia. And, while it's an educational opportunity about how everyone can be hurt and teased by all of the above, those underlying themes are just further fueled by this offended response in fierce defense of masculine Scottish identity. The kilt is not a skirt! How offensive!
One article calls this an "educational opportunity", which it is. But apparently only about how masculine kilts are and not the underlying transphobia that caused the incident in the first place.
As M. Dunn puts it in Kilts and Cross-Dressing and Utah (oh my!),
"I realize this is Utah, and, by default, a little conservative (not all residents, of course). That being said, I still find it amazing that “cross-dressing” is so openly criminalized in public situations."Oh Utah. Why o' why. We'll catch up to France in no time at this rate!
Kilt creates a stir, then an educational opportunity Standard Net
Utah school forces student to change out of kilt San Francisco Chronicle
You're right... this is a very sad thing. I have been blessed with a supportive environment for my son at his school with regards to his desire to live a life consistent with his psychological gender and well being. I hate that people are so closed minded... and you remind me that I should count my blessings (one of them being that I left Utah years ago).
ReplyDeleteI meant to tell you in an earlier post (before you visited my blog about Cameron) that I am Derek's 1st cousin. My mom had told me about his recent arrest and I Googled his name to get more information and ran accross your blog. Although I hardly know Derek and have spent precious little time around him (maybe two family gatherings at the most), I was extremely saddened by the way he treated you... and I know that you're experience with him wasn't an isolated incident, especially in Utah. I guess I have quite an uphill battle ahead of me... especially with my own family - the majority of whom live in Utah. I started my blog as a means of educating them... to help them understand and support us. Who knows... maybe it's a futile effort.
I'm really glad to have found your blog... thank you so much for your kind words and support. Keep fighting for truth... you give me strength.
My ex used to wear a purple pleather skirt all the time to school. He got expelled routinely, but usually not directly for the skirt. Oh, junior high.
ReplyDeleteI loved your spin on this! Thanks for the mention. Good luck with everything!
ReplyDeleteM.Dunn: Of course! Thank YOU for posting that great article to the Trans Group Blog in the first place!
ReplyDeleteCameron's Song: It's not a futile effort. It's incredibly educational, enlightening, and another little piece of that growing pool of resources that help make this a lot less mysterious to people. Helps them understand, builds tolerance. It's getting better, every.single.day, and the Internet is an amazing tool for people to connect, exchange, and learn.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to now know about your blog, too! :]