Recently we followed the story of the twelve year old boy who started at secondary school as a girl. It seems the school was struggling to handle a transexual child preparing for a sex change operation.
Now a school in the US has another cross-gender issue to contend with. A sixteen-year-old pupil at a school in Georgia was sent home only three days after starting there. Officials objected to Jonathan Escobar's skinny jeans, wig, heels and make-up, so he was told to dress more "manly" or opt for home schooling.
"I told myself I can't accept this," Escobar told the Atlanta Journal Constituion, after he withdrew from the school. The local school dress code states: "All students shall ... refrain from any mode of dress which proves to contribute to any disruption of school functions."
According to Escobar, the assistant principal told him his outfit had caused a fight between students at the school. The teenager claims that he was never a disruption in the classroom.
However, he admits that he did attract attention in the dinner hall, so much so, that on his second day of school a police officer told him he was concerned for his safety.
You can see an interview below with Jonathan Escobar, where he explains his point of view.
Some of his classmates are sticking up for his right to dress the way he chooses, even if it's unconventional. In a way I think he's a good example of sticking up for yourself. If you can't dress crazy as a teen, when can you? But then I did turn up at my convent school with pink spiky hair, so I can kind of see where he's coming from. Teens will rebel, it's in their nature. But we usually turn out OK in the end.
Do you think this teenager should be able to wear what he wants at school?
Source [ParentDish US]