A Mississippi transgender man was forced to miss his graduation Saturday after a federal judge banned him from wearing a dress and high heels during the event.
The 17-year-old girl, identified in legal documents by her initials LB, was not required to dress in “masculine” clothing.
On May 9, less than two weeks before graduation, the student was called into Harrison Central High School Principal Kelly Fuhler’s office. The latter asked the transgender woman what she would like to wear to the event.
“I told her I was going to wear a white dress and she replied that I wouldn’t have the right to wear men’s clothes,” says the teenager.
To his knowledge, no other student at the school had been asked about his attire for the event.
Screenshot from CNN
LB admits to being very surprised by his school’s reaction. She has spent the last four years there and has always been able to show off as a woman, especially by dressing up. She went to the prom wearing a sparkly blue dress with no objections from the school.
“I could be myself and I felt accepted. I understood and felt great support from everyone at school.
So LB and her parents filed a case against the school administration demanding that the 17-year-old student wear whatever dress she wanted during the graduation ceremony. The family, which said the teenager had his rights violated, accused the school board of discrimination based on gender and gender identity.
On Friday, the day before the ceremony, a federal judge denied the family’s request to ban the young woman from wearing a dress and heels to the event. As a result, the youth decided not to participate in the ceremony.
“Our client was insulted on discriminatory grounds and her parents were denied a once-in-a-lifetime event for their daughter,” a spokesman said.American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi.
School board Superintendent Mitchell King said schools rely on birth certificates to designate students as boys or girls.
During a phone conversation between the teenager’s mother and Mr. Raja, the student said he was “still a boy” and “so he should wear pants, socks and shoes like a boy.” Legal documents.
