Parent's shocked by "cross-dressing" day at school

[chrisoff]

Some people really need to learn the difference between a bit of fun for charity and trying to turn kids into transexuals. This is from our local paper and is about the funniest article I've read in it for years:

PARENT SHOCKED BY 'CROSS-DRESSING' DAY FOR PUPILS IN AID OF CHILDREN IN NEED


08:50 - 16 November 2007

A Parent has expressed her "shock and disgust" at plans for pupils at a north-east secondary school to dress as the opposite sex today to raise money for Children In Need.

The woman, whose son attends Turriff Academy, said she felt it was "wholly inappropriate" for a school to promote cross-dressing among impressionable youngsters.

She said: "Let them wear fancy dress by all means, but this is something of a sexual nature and that is why it's unacceptable.

"I think this is the slippery slope to moral decline and something like a vicars and tarts party."

Aberdeenshire Council's education service yesterday said the themed dress day was meant purely as fun and no pupil was compelled to take part.

A spokesman said: "Fundraising activities at the school often involve fancy dress and this year pupils are invited to dress as their male or female counterparts.

"There is no obligation to take part, but those who do not want to are asked to wear regular school uniform on what is usually a non-uniform day." He said the school had not received any complaints from parents about the planned dress theme, which is among a number of events arranged by the school charities committee.

The Turriff mother, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals against her son, said the dress as the opposite sex day had been highlighted in a school newsletter.

She said: "The newsletter said pupils must make an effort to follow the theme which signifies to me there is no option.

"My son doesn't want to dress up as a girl and is quite upset about this.

"I have nothing against raising money for Children In Need but I think this is wholly inappropriate for a school."

She asked if staff would be cross-dressing as well, and how future respect and discipline could be maintained if teachers took part.

The council spokesman said teachers at Turriff would not be dressing as members of the opposite sex but would be taking part in fundraising for Children in Need.

He said the information in the school newsletter that pupils "must make an effort to follow the theme" was meant as encouragement and was not an instruction.

He said: "It was written by the school charities committee, and perhaps a better form of words could have been chosen."

The boy's mother said she would be contacting the school to make her concerns known.

She claimed that the event could lead topupils being bullied, teased or made to feel awkward.

She said: "My son will not be at school dressed as a girl.

"However, his fear is that as it is a dress as the opposite sex day, if he dresses as a boy, people will say he is gay."

[missy]

oh, for goodness sakes.....

We have lots of things around here like the annual "Skirts" game. It's a charity baseball game where all the guys dress in skirts to play (skirts - not kilts!). Most of them do the entire bit with falsies and whigs and makeup and such. Of course, none of them shave their legs, and many of them have beards, so it's not quite cross dressing!!!!

Some people have NO sense of humor.

[mutepointe]

gee, i hope this goes all the way to the supreme court (tongue-in-cheek.)

[beowulf573]

I remember some of the guys dressing up as cheerleaders for a school event in 8th grade. Over done make-up, skirts and pom-poms, the whole thing.

This was a school sponsored event at a Catholic school.

With all the life or death issues folks don't seem to care about it, this seems just annoying. Some people look for a reason to be offended.

[susnfx]

However...here in Utah LDS kids attend a religion class sometime during the school day (they don't receive credit for it and it isn't on school property). One day a year for seminary they used to dress as "missionaries" - the guys in suits and the girls in nice dresses. Because seminary is part of the school day for these kids, they obviously had to wear that clothing the rest of the day. This offended a few people (the ones who said it "intimidated" their kids) and eventually it had to be stopped.

Wonder how a cross-dressing day would go over here...

Susan

[Lambchop]

We told y'all no good would come of those Teletubbies! But would you listen? Noooooo!

[chrisoff]

gee, i hope this goes all the way to the supreme court (tongue-in-cheek.)

<pedantry>
Court of Session
</pedantry>

[Congratulations]

"However, his fear is that as it is a dress as the opposite sex day, if he dresses as a boy, people will say he is gay."

[peeplj]

We told y'all no good would come of those Teletubbies! But would you listen? Noooooo!

Heh.

We had a day every year when there was some cross-dressing going on.

It was called "initiation."

Unfortunately, there was a bit more involved that just the cross-dressing part, and it finally had to be stopped before somebody got damaged...although it was a tenacious custom, and I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't still happen, though perhaps farther away from school grounds.

--James

[djm]

"However, his fear is that as it is a dress as the opposite sex day, if he dresses as a boy, people will say he is gay."

Men often get accused of promoting or passing along homophobia, but in my experience this is actually coming from the mothers as much or more than the fathers.

djm

[Denny]

this is actually coming from the mothers as much or more than the fathers.

but they had to live with the father

[Wombat]

Can't he just dress as an emo or a metrosexual?

Problem solved.

BTW, they could make a killing bussing in crossdressers from the home counties. No inhibitions there.

[SteveShaw]

My wife keeps accidentally putting her underwear in my drawer when she's putting the washing away. Disappointingly, I am considerably larger than size 12.

[Lambchop]

OK, the banner advertisement up there is saying "You are what you wear! Don't let your clothes embarrass you!"

[djm]

Really? I'm seeing, "Top 10 Programs for Troubled Teens."

djm