A "WTH?" article for the day - "Girl sues school over prom tux denial"

[AwakeAtLast]

Girl sues school over prom tux denial

By Andy Gammill
Posted: March 11, 2009

A 17-year-old Boone County girl has sued Lebanon Schools after her high school principal told her she could not wear a tuxedo to the school's April 25 prom but would have to wear a dress.

The Lebanon High School senior, whose name is not revealed in the lawsuit, is a lesbian and does not wear dresses because she sees them as expressing a sexual identity that she does not embrace, court filings said.

Her attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has asked a federal court to issue an injunction that would require the school to let her wear the same formal attire to the prom as male students at the school.

In the filing, ACLU of Indiana legal director Ken Falk argued that the district's policy violates the stipulations in the U.S. Constitution that the government treat a female student the same as male students and not limit students' freedom to express beliefs.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20090311/NEWS04/903110415

I want to shake the principal and yell, "WTH!"

[Captain Hilts]

1. Crazy. At least in a tuxedo you don't have to wear push-up accessories and a really weird bra. nt

[AwakeAtLast]

6. And you don't have to worry about things, um, popping out

:D

[Captain Hilts]

7. Yeah, and your girl parts can breathe in a tux. No two-sided tape!!

[MadMaddie]

12. A Tux is probably cheaper than all the crap you have to buy

along with the dress.

[Captain Hilts]

13. Ain't that the truth. nt

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

2. I wore a tux to my senior prom

They principal flipped, but didn't dare say anything. No one else cared.

[AwakeAtLast]

5. Indiana may have gone blue, but there's still a lot of red left.

I think a tux is an elegant choice.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

15. I'm in NJ

In the weird part that's Republican, but mostly socially liberal.

[Fresh_Start]

3. I guess the principal has a lot of time on his/her hands

apparently a student choosing to not wear a dress makes it to the top of their priorities

[Ian David]

4. We had women at my Presbyterian private school's prom that wore tuxedos...

... they weren't "openly lesbian" but said they were doing it to make a statement of some sort and had other women as their dates.

But come on, we all kinda knew why they were REALLY doing it, and nobody seemed to make a big deal or hassle them about it.


Also, once a year, senior boys would wear skirts to class and/or dinner to protest the fact that girls could wear skirts to class, but boys couldn't wear shorts.

And again, nobody made a major fuss about it.

[Captain Hilts]

8. EVERYBODY looks good in a black tux. MOST people look AWFUL in a shrinkwrap dress. nt

[Mind_your_head]

9. TEN YEARS AGO NOW......one of my child's friends/classmates

wore a white pantsuit/tux kinda thing to her Catholic "First Communion". There was 'no comment' by anyone about it. That's who/what she was-is/what she was comfortable in.

People respect 'truth' ~ and the courage it takes to be truthful about oneself - FAR GREATER than simply conforming to 'social convention.

[AwakeAtLast]

11. Actresses also wear tuxes on the red carpet

The principal's protest baffles me. :shrug:

[Mind_your_head]

16. I agree. See my post above eom

edit: "above" ~ post #9

[Eryemil]

17. Your example would actually mean something if it were a male in female attire

It is more much acceptable for females to adopt male standards than the other way around.

[readmoreoften]

19. Not that much more.

Only when "madonna and brittney" do it is it acceptable because it's play. When an actual transgendered butch or FTM does it, it's not so pretty. I've known some people who've been brutally attacked. I know some people who haven't. I also know some transwomen queens who have and haven't.

[Eryemil]

20. Specifically in the context the poster above mentioned?

[theoldman]

10. Maybe she wanted to look like Marlene Dietrich.

[Mind_your_head]

14. Maybe.....Marlene looks pretty 'cool' to me.....just not 'traditional'

(ONE MUST CONFORM!!!) and wear a DRESS!

stupid myopic principal ~ seriously!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYnbO0hQZHM/SaNYxL_bVVI/AAAAAAAABKk/Bu2axxrIQtM/s400/Marlene+Dietrich+tuxedo+-+Life+archives+-+Eisenstaedt.jpg

[bluedawg12]

18. Dang let her wear the tux, they're awesome.

Everyone looks good in a tux, even penguins.

[One_Life_To_Give]

21. The more things change, the more they stay the same

www.advocate.com/news_detail.asp?id=31327

In 1999, Falk helped an Indianapolis male teen win a court battle to wear a dress to prom. “All students have First Amendment rights of freedom of expression. Those rights can be overcome for the legitimate needs of the school. “But the court found at a prom, those risks are lessened. It’s not a scholastic activity.”

[AwakeAtLast]

24. I didn't know there was a legal precedence

and I'm sure the principal didn't either, which makes him doubly stupid!

[RetiredTrotskyite]

22. Yep, Sounds About Right For Indiana

I am SO glad to be out of there that it's not funny! Damn! Let her wear the tux!

[Oeditpus Rex]

23. This is so 1990

It was right around then that two girls at a high school in my home town wanted to go to their prom as a couple, one in a tux and one in a formal. They weren't lesbian, they said, but BFsF. The principal said no, and a big stink ensued. I don't recall the details, but they were allowed to go as they wanted.

About 10 years later, at the same school, the principal (I don't remember if it was the same one) tried to enact a rule against girls wearing thongs because they created a "distraction." Wonderfully, many female students protested under the banner, "Stop looking at our underwear."

:headbang: