Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Clippings from news sources involving fashion freedom and other gender equality issues.
User avatar
moonshadow
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 6994
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:58 am
Location: Warm Beach, Washington
Contact:

Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by moonshadow »

https://wcyb.com/news/nation-world/open ... ail-polish

Has a link to the high schools hand book (dress code on page 51)

I didn't think they were allowed to do that.... so much for equal protection under the law...

Girls can do it.... boys can't.

Sounds like Texas to me!
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
User avatar
r.m.anderson
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 2601
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:25 pm
Location: Burnsville MN USA

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by r.m.anderson »

Details were not provided as to the color of the nail polish.
If black or goth color really contrasty this may highlight the issue.
Wearing neutral skin color would not draw such attention.

But does the nail polish apply equally to the girls ?

Get me one of those lawyers who like a good ole school board fight.

Imagine going to or trying to go to that school wearing a skirt or dress ! ! !
"YES SKIRTING MATTERS"!
"Kilt-On" -or- as the case may be "Skirt-On" !
WHY ?
Isn't wearing a kilt enough?
Well a skirt will do in a pinch!
Make mine short and don't you dare think of pinching there !
User avatar
moonshadow
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 6994
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:58 am
Location: Warm Beach, Washington
Contact:

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by moonshadow »

r.m.anderson wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 2:28 am Get me one of those lawyers who like a good ole school board fight.
Nothing like a good ole school board fight! :P
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
Faldaguy
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1120
Joined: Sun Feb 02, 2020 5:09 am
Location: Costa Rica

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by Faldaguy »

by moonshadow » Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:17 pm

r.m.anderson wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:28 pm
Get me one of those lawyers who like a good ole school board fight.
Nothing like a good ole school board fight! :P
Something like Harper Valley PTA? :D :
User avatar
moonshadow
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 6994
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:58 am
Location: Warm Beach, Washington
Contact:

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by moonshadow »

Faldaguy wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:53 am
by moonshadow » Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:17 pm

r.m.anderson wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:28 pm
Get me one of those lawyers who like a good ole school board fight.
Nothing like a good ole school board fight! :P
Something like Harper Valley PTA? :D :
Oh my God.... :rofl:

https://youtu.be/aOZPBUu7Fro
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
Stu
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1312
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2003 8:25 am
Location: North Lincolnshire, UK

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by Stu »

I'm not sure it's relevant that he is gay, openly or otherwise. He is a boy who wants to wear nail polish - that's all.
User avatar
moonshadow
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 6994
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:58 am
Location: Warm Beach, Washington
Contact:

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by moonshadow »

Stu wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 7:18 pm I'm not sure it's relevant that he is gay, openly or otherwise. He is a boy who wants to wear nail polish - that's all.
Agreed. But that's modern journalism for you...
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
User avatar
Fred in Skirts
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 3984
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2016 6:48 pm
Location: Southeast Corner of Aiken County, SC USA

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by Fred in Skirts »

It should make no difference as to whither it is a female or a male the rules should be equal.
They should not discriminate one against the other. If a boy, man, girl, woman wants to wear make-up or color their hair have curls or wear skirts, dresses, heels, sandals, combat boots etc then let them wear them with out making it a crime.
Just my .02 US worth....
"It is better to be hated for what you are than be loved for what you are not" Andre Gide: 1869 - 1951
Always be yourself because the people that matter don’t mind and the ones that mind don’t matter.
User avatar
r.m.anderson
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 2601
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:25 pm
Location: Burnsville MN USA

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by r.m.anderson »

Photo image of nails in question:
NAILS.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"YES SKIRTING MATTERS"!
"Kilt-On" -or- as the case may be "Skirt-On" !
WHY ?
Isn't wearing a kilt enough?
Well a skirt will do in a pinch!
Make mine short and don't you dare think of pinching there !
Dust
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 968
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2018 7:03 pm

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by Dust »

Interestingly, the dress code, while being different for boys and girls, is remarkably consistent between the two. It should probably be changed to a single unisex code, but for most things it has identical language in both. Notable exceptions are the shaving requirement for boys; the sections on hair (although both prohibit unnatural colors); make-up, nail-polish, and jewelry being allowed (with limits) for girls; and different restrictions on tops, with an outright ban on sleeveless shirts for guys, while girls just need 3 inch wide straps (no off-the-shoulder, either) and have a prohibition on midriff and cleavage (boys have a limit on how many buttons can be open on their shirt) as well as see through tops.

Nothing in the dress code says boys can't wear skirts and dresses! The boys code has the same language about hemlines 5 inches from the kneecap... and the language about requiring tights under pants with holes!
STEVIE
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 4174
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2010 11:01 pm
Location: North East Scotland.

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by STEVIE »

Dust wrote: Sat Dec 05, 2020 1:30 am Nothing in the dress code says boys can't wear skirts and dresses! The boys code has the same language about hemlines 5 inches from the kneecap... and the language about requiring tights under pants with holes!
Hi Stu
Interesting point about not saying there is a ban on skirts or dresses for the boys.
Are the authorities simply relying on societal norms to remove that possibility?
How would they have reacted if he had been in a dress as well as the offending nail polish?
Steve
Stu
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1312
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2003 8:25 am
Location: North Lincolnshire, UK

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by Stu »

Hi Stevie

I wondered the same. The whole argument hinges on the fundamental inequalities that males suffer when it comes to dress and appearance and that are manifest in the lack of choices for men and boys that women and girls enjoy.

Having lived in a society that has school uniform (and having worn it myself), and then having lived in a society which does not have school uniform, I have formed a view that, on balance, it is a useful and beneficial requirement for a host of reasons. If there is a uniform, however, there must be equity between the sexes in terms of choices and it is a scandal that there is not, as i saw when my own children went to school. My daughters could dress as they pleased from a range of options according to their preference on the day or the weather, whereas my son had precisely zero choice, and the girls also enjoyed much greater freedom when it came to hairstyles. Of course, nail colour and other cosmetics were not allowed on either sex, so that part was equitable. Where there is no school uniform, then you have to accept that pretty much anything goes so long as it is decent. I could see a concern where a male pupil turned up ostentatiously dressed as a female, though - i.e. essentially in drag - as that could be disruptive and take the focus away from the educational goals of the school.
pelmut
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1923
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:36 am
Location: Somerset, England

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by pelmut »

Stu wrote: Sat Dec 05, 2020 10:13 am ... I could see a concern where a male pupil turned up ostentatiously dressed as a female, though - i.e. essentially in drag - as that could be disruptive and take the focus away from the educational goals of the school.
It wouldn't last long, it would soon become a case of "Oh yes, that's John, that's how he dresses".  A much bigger problem would arise if it became competetive and led to each pupil trying to out-do the other by being more and more shocking.

If it wasn't shocking in the first place, that wouldn't happen - so making it commonplace is the way to go.
There is no such thing as a normal person, only someone you don't know very well yet.
User avatar
moonshadow
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 6994
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:58 am
Location: Warm Beach, Washington
Contact:

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by moonshadow »

There are several aces that the kid can employ in this situation...

If this is a public school, the lowest hanging fruit is the 14th amendment, which demands equal protection of the law. However for some reason courts don't feel this applies to sex, so that may not work.

He may try the 1st amendment, generally the "freedom to protest" (the nails could be considered a protest), but that argument is weak and would likely fail.

He may also try the "freedom from religion" argument, as most of these ultra-conservative guidelines trace back to a time when the government enforced traditional Judea-Christian ideals.

But conservative judges tend to believe that atheist have no religious freedom, you have to choose one... so in that case...

The final option, convert to Wicca. It's a recognized religion in the U.S. and is pretty open ended. It is also VERY pro-feminine, and I'm sure he can come up with some spiritual reason to embrace his femininity. Satanism would probably work too.

And as we know red states.... they're all about that "religious freedom"! :lol: In fact, I think John Oliver's "Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption" (or something like that) is actually incorporated in Texas! There ya go!

Yes.... hit these rule makers in the nut sack with their own rule book!

Of course there is a final final option if all else fails... move to a state where people are actually free..
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
rivegauche
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 537
Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:05 pm

Re: Openly gay Texas student protesting in-school suspension for wearing nail polish

Post by rivegauche »

I was a teacher many years ago and if a pupil had turned up wearing clothes that were in breach of the school dress code I would have supported the pupil, including a boy in a skirt or wearing make up. Restrictions based on gender or culture are wrong and must be called out. The ability of some schools to ban pupils with hair in cornrows is appalling. I went to a school that was more or less controlled by Presbyterians (jewellery was banned for all pupils yet was worn by boys as well as girls) but attempts to get boys to cut their long hair and get girls to wear skirts long enough to be within the school rules were impossible to enforce and I think that even in the 1960s a boy coming to school in a skirt or a dress might have got a hard time in the playground but the pupils would have united in his defence if the school had taken any sanctions against him. I think if a pupil had come out as gay (no one did) it would have been very unpleasant for them but dark nail varnish on a boy would have been regarded as cool if there were no other off-gender behaviours.
Post Reply