Printer-friendly versionMany gays and lesbians feel understandably frustrated right now. The U.S. military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy has yet to be repealed. And over the last 13 months, voters have approved gay marriage bans in Arizona, California, Florida and Maine.
But amid these setbacks are signs that greater activism has paid off. Take the case of Cynthia Stewart, a teenager in northwest Alabama. The 17-year-old junior at Tharptown High School is blazing her own civil rights trail through some pretty tall weeds.
In September, Cynthia asked the school for permission to bring her date to the prom, which is scheduled for March 25. Tharptown’s principal declared instead that the school would have no prom at all. Why? Because Cynthia’s proposed date was another girl.
Tharptown screens all potential prom dates living outside the school’s attendance district. Cynthia’s girlfriend falls in that category. Hank Sherrod, a local attorney helping Cynthia, says this screening is used to keep out troublemakers and people with documented behavioral problems. Cynthia’s girlfriend does not fall into that category.
So school officials faced a choice. They could allow a lesbian couple to come dance and party with everyone else. Or, they could shut down the prom. They opted to shut down the prom.
Cynthia’s family petitioned the Franklin County school board to rethink its policy and called the American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU lawyers reminded the board that federal law prohibits this kind of discrimination. The week of Nov. 9-13, board members overturned the previous decision and let the prom go forward.
That matter appears to be close to resolution. But Cynthia and Franklin County schools have at least one more issue to thrash out. Cynthia and some friends also wore stickers to school that read, “I’m a Lesbian.” The principal told Cynthia to remove her sticker. She reminded him of her First Amendment right to wear it. According to Cynthia, the principal replied, “You don’t have that much freedom of speech at school.” (District officials did not return phone calls asking for comment.)
Being openly gay in high school has never been easy. One 2005 study found that 75 percent of gay students report being verbally abused at school, and more than a third say they are physically harassed. Teaching Tolerance provides resources for teachers to help gay students through this tough time (Why We Need a GSA and 5 Steps to Safer Schools).
Cynthia says that she faced some name-calling and ostracism when she first came out in sixth grade. But since then, the students at her schools have been very accepting. “This is the only problem with anything about being gay that I’ve had,” she says. Cynthia hopes that her struggle this year will prevent a repeat of these issues in the future. “I’m trying to help other people [in this situation],” she says. “It’s not just about me.”
Comments
I can understand being upset
I can understand being upset that you -- unfairly -- cannot take the date of your choice to prom. But, I do not think it's appropriate for students of any sexual orientation to wear stickers proclaiming it. Such activity can only distract from the learning environment. Seriously, if we had children running around the halls all day with stickers saying, "I'm a Lesbian!" "I'm Straight!" "I Love Girls!" "I Love Boys! "I Love Boys and Girls!," what have you, it would be chaos. Really, would students be focused on math, or literacy, or social studies -- or would they be thinking about sex?
Students aren't focused on
Students aren't focused on math anyway. Teenagers are focused on sex. I mean really In high school I was giving sex far more thought than quadradic equations. 95% of teenagers or for that matter humans are. I think it puts social issues on the fore front and teaches tolerance and thinking for oneself. That is education....
It's illegal for schools to
It's illegal for schools to censor students on the basis of what MIGHT happen. They can only restrict student speech if it actually does interfere with the educational process. Cynthia's sticker did not do that.
I don't think that is true
I don't think that is true and I question your assertion of illegality without providing any evidence or reference. Time and again, courts have upheld that schools have the right to restrict speech with minors in an educational setting. School newspapers are a perfect example. The question is not so much, Does she have a right to wear the sticker? or Does the school have a right to restrict her speech? as it is, What is the right thing to do?
"What is the right thing to
"What is the right thing to do" is incredibly subjective. My right thing might not be yours.
I sincerely hope in my lifetime we reach an acceptance of people's sexual preferences and worry about things that really matter.
Very true. I wish for the
Very true. I wish for the same thing.
Good point about evidence or
Good point about evidence or references. See the U.S. Supreme Court's Tinker v. Des Moines decision for First Amendment issues regarding what students may wear in schools. A later ruling, Bethel v. Fraser, deals with the restriction of sexually charged language.
Cynthia's case is very
Cynthia's case is very reminiscent of the precedent "Tinker vs. Des Moines" where a few students went against a code to wear armbands protesting the war. It's freedom of expression. However, even with my tolerance of people's personal choices, I do not support the "civil liberty" of gays to get married. "Love is Love" doesn't work for me. Love who you want inside your home, but don't bring it to church. If they cannot naturally have children together, something tells me nature doesn't support it.
Maybe straight people should
Maybe straight people should only love who they love inside their homes? So marriage purely a biological ability to reproduce? Then what about couples who choose not to reproduce or experience infertility? Should they not have the right to marry? My point is that marriage is multiple things, legal rights and symbolic meaning. It is not about biology alone. If you don't support gay marriage, then don't get one.
Being a woman married to a
Being a woman married to a man, AND a republican, I STRONGLY disagree with the statement that gays should not have the right to marry because they cannot naturally have children. I think that this statement is extremely ignorant. A straight marriage has WAY more meaning to it than simply reproduction... We are not animals who mate strictly to survive. Humans are extremely complex. By saying that marriage is simply to reproduce, you are stating that hetero sexual people don't get married because they love each other, and want to be together forever, as well as MANY other emotional connections as well as physical. With that being said, People who are homosexual are NO different than heterosexual people, other than their sexual preference. They come from many backgrounds, religions, and each person has their own personal sexual preference. People who are homosexual are just like everyone else. They have beliefs, feelings, they require food for bodily nourishment, and they work in job positions that are very high, including political positions, professional athletics, high level jobs in major corporations, and some are even celebrities. They are not aliens, and being homosexual is not a disease. And as far as the comment containing the statement, "god didn't mean for us to be gay", unbelievable. Why don't you chew on this thought? If god didn't intend for there to be homosexuals, than why do they exist? How do you know that being homosexual isn't a life lesson that god has set up, to teach people to learn acceptance of his children and live together in harmony, despite our differences? There is homosexuality, even in the bible. It is not a new development, and there have been homosexual people in our history since the beginning of time. Homosexuality has just never been so openly accepted until now, so in the past, a lot of homosexual people hid their sexuality because they had to, or they would face extreme consequences. Honestly... who cares what a person's sexual preference is? I have a lot of friends who are homosexual, and even a few family members. Some of my homosexual friends, I knew were gay when i met them. Others, I had been friends with them for years before they came out. I love all of my friends because they share similar interests to mine, and when we spend time together we have lots of fun, and we talk about our lives, work, and how everything is going. So really people. Stop being so ignorant. Pull your head out of your asses and wake up. homosexual people are so much more than their sexuality... They are PEOPLE.... just because their sexual preference is different than yours, doesn't make them any less human. Give me a break.
I agree, I think advertising
I agree, I think advertising your sexuality with such a label (gay or straight) in inappropriate in general. Would I offend people if I had a sticker that said "I'm heterosexual"? I think I'd get reactions.. boys saying "oh yeah? so Am I *wink wink*" or "oh yeah? What do you mean by that? Because I'm not.. so what??"
I must have been weird because I wasn't thinking about sex constantly in high school. I thought about boys, but I thought about school, college, art, my job... I think we really give teens a disservice when we paint them as either these primitive sub-humans who only look to copulate or characters from bad 80's college sex-comedies.
Heterosexuality is enforced
Heterosexuality is enforced and assumed. Straight relationships,aesthetics, and language permeate every sector of our society. Wearing a pin, sticker, or rainbow flag means that we are out and proud, that we will not be shamed into the closet. I think Pat Parker says it very well in her poem:
FOR THE STRAIGHT FOLKS WHO DON'T MIND GAYS BUT WISH THEY WEREN'T SO BLATANT
"You know, some people got a lot of nerve.
Sometimes I don't believe the things I see and hear."
"Have you met the woman who's shocked by two women kissing
and in the same breath, tells you she is pregnant?
BUT gays, shouldn't be so blatant".
"Or this straight couple sits next to you in a movie and
you can't hear the dialogue because of the sound effects.
BUT gays shouldn't be so blatant".
"And the woman in your office spends an entire lunch hour
talking about her new bikini drawers and how much
her husband likes them.
BUT gays shouldn't be so blatant."
"Or the "hip" chick in your class rattling like a mile a minute
while you're trying to get stoned in the john, about the
camping trip she took with her musician boyfriend.
BUT gays shouldn't be so blatant."
"You go in a public bathroom and all over the walls there's John loves
Mary, Janice digs Richard, Pepe loves Delores, etc., etc.
BUT gays shouldn't be so blatant."
"Or your go to an amusement park and there's a tunnel of loveand pictures of straights painted on the front and grinning couples are coming in and out.
BUT gays shouldn't be so blatant."
"Fact is, blatant heterosexuals are all over the place.
Supermarkets, movies, on your job, in church, in books, on television every day
day and night, every place-even- in gay bars and they want gay men and woman to go and hide in the closet."
"So to you straight folks I say, "Sure, I'll go if you go too"
BUT I'm polite so, after you."
I could not agree more! The
I could not agree more! The less that destracts from academics, the better!
Being bullied, excluded, and
Being bullied, excluded, and discriminated against because of your gender identity expression or sexual orientation negatively directly impacts one's quality of life, it also impacts learning for LGBT youth.
So, promoting acceptance of differences and cross cultural understanding is a neccessary part of education. What this student sought were equal access to privileges, rights and freedoms as her fellow straight students. Wearing pins or slogans are one form of direct action and educating a populace.
The fact that there would be
The fact that there would be chaos is quite a slippery slope. It would have as much distraction as girls wearing sofie shorts with "SEXY" written on the buttocks, or guys wearing stupid funny shirts pertaining to wiener dogs with an underlying sexual innuendo on it.chaos would not ensue. It would have less effect on the education than shoole boards banning racially subjective books such as Huck Finn or books considered "propaganda" like Fahrenheit 451. Kids see all the proclamations of freedom such as occupy wall street and the nation-wide debate on gay marriage they want to believe in something they can understand and explain, and with the confusing times of adolescents they want freedom to do what they please within a logical reasoning of course. In conclusion, who cares if they wear stickers stating their sexuality? If it makes them feel better let them do it, they barely get a chance to "one-up" the man. let them enjoy their stickers.
What if before the prom
What if before the prom bruhaha happened someone had
worn "I'm Straight" stickers to that school; does anyone really
think that the school would have given it a second thought?
Exactly. The whole point is
Exactly. The whole point is that the school assumes the teens are heterosexual, and the environment supports that orientation. Straight teens have no need to identify that way, or pronounce it, as it's already assumed and supported.
I respect her so much. I know
I respect her so much. I know that there are- trust me, a lot more dangerous and important things in the world- but she is a true freedom fighter. Who does that principal think he is, anyways? "You don't have that much right at school"... what a prejudiced jerk.
It seems to me like Cynthia's
It seems to me like Cynthia's sticker was less about sex than it was about asserting her identity. Kids and all people should be encouraged and empowered to assert who they are. Besides, there are alot of folks, straight or gay, who choose not to date or have sex. Their sexual behavior or lack thereof dosen't negate the fact that they are who they say they are.