Crossdressing in Reverse (Girls in Tuxedos)

Girl in tuxedo denied a place in school yearbook

Enlarge AP Ceara Sturgis wears a tux in her preferred yearbook photo, which officials won't run.

By Chris Joyner, USA TODAY

JACKSON, Miss. — Veronica Rodriguez describes her daughter, 17-year-old Ceara Sturgis, as "a perfect child": a straight-A student, a goalie on the soccer team, a trumpet player in the band and active in Students Against Destructive Decisions.

Sturgis also is gay and feels more comfortable in boys' clothes, her mother says. So Rodriguez supported her daughter's decision to wear a tuxedo, rather than the drape customary for girls, when she had her senior portrait made in July. Now she is battling officials at Wesson Attendance Center in the Copiah County (Miss.) School District. Rodriguez said she received a letter from the school in August stating that only boys could wear tuxedos and have since refused to include the photo in the school yearbook.

The conflict is one of several this year involving how school districts handle cross-dressing students.

"The yearbook is not for the parents or the teachers. It's for the students," Rodriguez said. "She's not a troublemaker. She is gay."

Superintendent Ricky Clopton said the school district's attorney has assured him they are within their rights to exclude the photo.

Sturgis said she has received support from classmates and people around the nation. "It's really an amazing feeling," she said.

The Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union warned the district that they are violating Sturgis' constitutionally protected freedom of expression, legal director Kristy Bennett said.

Candace Gingrich of the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, said it is not uncommon for LGBT students to clash with school officials on this issue. "It's a matter of self-expression," she said. Other school conflicts this year:

•In Waldorf, Md., a Westlake High senior was denied the option of wearing a tuxedo for her yearbook photo. Her mother complained, and the school reversed the decision after discovering other schools had allowed it, schools spokeswoman Katie O'Malley-Simpson said.

•In Dunnellon, Fla., a 16-year-old boy was sent home in March for violating Marion County School District dress code by wearing makeup, high-heeled boots and a bra. The policy on the district website states that students must dress "in keeping with their gender." Kathy Richardson, of the school district, said the boy's cross-dressing was an isolated event.

•In Lebanon, Ind., school officials in March reversed a ban on cross-dressing when a female senior decided to wear a tux to the prom. The girl sued the district, but the issue was settled when a "gender-neutral" policy was adopted. "We were OK with making that switch," Lebanon High Principal Kevin O'Rourke said.

In Sturgis' case, the deadline for yearbook photos was Sept. 30. Rodriguez hopes the school will reconsider.

Good god. How freakin' backwards. I bet they let girls go to school looking like skanks, but a tux is just too much. Get over it.

uhhm kk

This is Mississippi...im not excusing the prejudice but this is not an accepting state of shit!

i dont think it would have been too accepted when i was in High School either & that was in NJ. But it did always seem (& it seems true now too) that there are girls that don't care for the dresses or skirts, no makeup, boyish haircuts etc. You see where i am going with this. This is always tolerated although guys will always be making snide comments about them.

seriously, haven't they got bigger things to worry about than what someone is wearing? who cares what she chooses to wear? if that's her photo then she looks kind of cute in her tux. Kudos for her courage in wearing it!

Personally I think they should force her to wear a dress!! But then again I think everyone should be forced to wear a dress!!

Jeeeezzzzzzz!!

Originally Posted by pinksugar /img/forum/go_quote.gif seriously, haven't they got bigger things to worry about than what someone is wearing? who cares what she chooses to wear? if that's her photo then she looks kind of cute in her tux. Kudos for her courage in wearing it! I totally agree with you. If she feels good about herself and is happy, then big deal. She looks clean and cute and very formal.

i think cross dressing should be allowed as long as they follow the dress code for which ever gender they want to dress like...

as in if males cant have there boxers showing, than a female chosing to dress as a male cant either.

or if females cant wear skirts shorter than knee length, than males shouldnt be able to either.

But other than that i think they should wear what they are most comfortable in

Obviously

Wow that is just wrong. I have a friend who wore a tux to her high school grad. She dresses quite masculine, and since the grad was formal it was either wear that or a gown and she was uncomfortable in the gown. The school even let her bring her girlfriend as a date, and this was a conservative Catholic school.

Long as all the important parts are covered, who cares...

I don't see the big deal. At our highschool we had a gay guy that dressed in skirts and tank tops within the school does. At first they had a problem but it wasn't brought up anymore a month into the school year and he was never criticized by students for it, only some of the teachers. Plenty of chicks dressed like dudes and no one gave a crap then.

poor girl, good for her for sticking to her principles though!

Originally Posted by Orangeeyecrayon /img/forum/go_quote.gif i think cross dressing should be allowed as long as they follow the dress code for which ever gender they want to dress like...
as in if males cant have there boxers showing, than a female chosing to dress as a male cant either.

or if females cant wear skirts shorter than knee length, than males shouldnt be able to either.

But other than that i think they should wear what they are most comfortable in

i totally agree!