Cross-Dressing Teen Told to Dress 'Manly'

by Lesley Kennedy (Subscribe to Lesley Kennedy's posts) Oct 8th 2009 5:18PM

Categories: Teens & Tweens, In The News, Education, Amazing Kids

Are skinny jeans, makeup and flats disruptive clothing choices for school?

If you're a 16-year-old boy attending Georgia's North Cobb High School, the district seems to think so.

According to a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jonathan Escobar -- a Miami transplant who had only been attending the school for three days -- says an assistant principal at North Cobb told him he needed to dress more "manly" for school, or think about home-schooling.

"I told myself I can't accept this," Escobar told the AJC, after he withdrew from the school.We checked out the Cobb County School District dress code. Rule A states: "All students shall ... refrain from any mode of dress which proves to contribute to any disruption of school functions."

And Jay Dillon, spokesman for Cobb County schools reiterates to the AJC, "You can't wear clothing that causes a disruption."

According to Escobar, the assistant principal told him his outfit had caused a fight between students at the school. The young teen asserts that he was never a disruption in the classroom however, Escobar admits that he did attract attention in the lunchroom, so much so, that on his second day of school a police officer told him he was concerned for his safety.

"They should've told the students to back off," Escobar told the AJC. "They should have never given me the option of homeschooling or changing who I am."

Students seem to be supporting Escobar. The Facebook group "Support Jonathan" is at more than 1,000 members and plans for protests are in the works.

Megan Skriba, the North Cobb teen who started the Facebook page said that going to school gives students the opportunity to express themselves.

"I don't think that Jonathan should have been told to leave the school because he is only trying to be himself -- most teens are," she said

"At North Cobb, there are people with multicolored hair, and even girls that dress as guys, but they don't get in trouble for distraction. I don't think that it's fair to treat someone differently because it's the first time they've seen a guy dress as a girl instead of the other way around. Jonathan didn't make it a distraction, the students and teachers did," she says.

"I dont think that anybody should have to give up their education because of the way they dress. It's not right."

Do you think Escobar should be able to wear what he wants?

Related: Berlin Police Ban Fred Perry for Cops and Kansas Schools Ban Hooded Sweatshirts

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Comments (15)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Shannon 10-08-2009 @ 6:42PM

That is actually a local story to me, I think he is a bit outrageous, but actually seems to be in line with the dress code. I think it may be a case of admistrators not being sure how to react to him. Like he says, no one says anything when a girl dresses like a guy. is she told to be more girly?

Cobbgirl 10-08-2009 @ 7:08PM

What they don't mention in this article is that the school offered him the use of the faculty bathroom (only one of the students allowed to do this) since he wanted to use the girls bathroom. He kept using the womens bathroom, a girl can't use the mens and he as a male can't use the womens....the school TRIED he refused to try to help the school help him.

Michael Coleman 10-08-2009 @ 8:26PM

what girl would want this freak of nature in there bathroom ? standing up ! urinating all over the toilet seat ! leaving the seat up ? come on ! give the girls a break. this is not normal !

Inadequate Wife 10-09-2009 @ 8:42AM

Just speculation here, but it's likely he sits on the toilet seat to urinate.

dee 10-09-2009 @ 9:28PM

He should be allowed to dress as he likes. If others can't handle it, it's their problem and the school should take it up with them.

lurker #283 10-09-2009 @ 3:18AM

""I dont think that anybody should have to give up their education because of the way they dress. It's not right.""

Oh, shut up. Dress like a boy, sit down, shut up, and learn. School isn't for expressing yourself, it's for learning useful skills so that you can earn a living rather than mooching off society.

Michelle 10-09-2009 @ 12:15PM

Hmmmm, the comment you are referring to is the GIRL who was sticking up for the boy and it seems as though (from the story) that other students support him/her. High School IS for expressing yourself and flexing personality muscles along with learning. From what I can tell there are 2 issues a) Administrators are not sure how to deal with a transgender M to F. and b) There was a which restroom should the student use. If administrators offered the faculty restroom the student should have accepted that in order to make the rest of the female student body comfortable. If the student in fact is pre-op, if for some odd reason the student has already gone through gender reassignment surgery...sorry to tell you the student would actually be a girl now. Either way it really isn't anyone's place to judge so why don't you sit down and shut it.

Elizabeth 10-09-2009 @ 3:45AM

I don't really know how I feel about this. I mean, if this kid is going through a gender identity crisis, and living as a girl and taking the hormones because he plans to have gender reassignment surgery, then yes, the school does need to tell those students giving him a hard time to be tolerant. On the other hand, if he's just doing it to do it, then I do think the school has the right to tell him not to dress in that way. It would be like a student wearing a shirt with a racist slogan or photo on it, or one of those other shirts designed to get a rise out of people.

Inadequate Wife 10-09-2009 @ 8:31AM

This seems like such a no-brainer. If the kid's clothing is otherwise acceptable, then he should be allowed to wear it. I know a lot of schools ban sleeveless tops, offensive words/pictures, shirts that show belly buttons, jeans that expose underwear, or skirts shorter than x inches above the knee. If a girl could wear his clothes and fit within the dress code, then let him wear whatever he wants.

He's nothing more than a novelty - something new to look at and discuss. When the novelty wears off - maybe a week or two, whatever disruption he's created will be gone too. It's no different than a kid who shows up with purple hair - everyone talks for a while, but once it's old news, no one even mentions it anymore.

As far as the restroom, as long as he has boy parts, he needs to use the boy restroom. Just like the gays and lesbians use the restrooms that match their body parts. I'm not trying to be insensitive here, but he doesn't deserve any special accommodations in school that are not normally available in other public settings.

Other than "family" restrooms in shopping malls, I don't see a lot of gender sharing of public restrooms. I also don't see people wandering into the family restroom without young children in tow.

Myself 10-09-2009 @ 12:20PM

I'm of the mind that if whatever you're doing isn't harming anyone else there's nothing wrong with it. While I don't comprehend his motivation I don't see how any one is damaged by the way he dresses. Everyone needs to relax and get back to the school work.

www.theplanetofus.com

Debhig 10-10-2009 @ 12:18PM

He's obviously articulate and intelligent. His dress isn't offensive, and actually shows a sense of sophisticated style for one his age. It's time that people realize that people like Jonathan are born like that and can't change, unless someone forces them to be totally someone or something that they are not.

It isn't a lifestyle that they would choose (one of harrassment, penalities and rejection) if they weren't being truthful with themselves. It's not an easy path to take. Give the boy an education while he decides whether to do reassignment surgery as he gets older.

I personally want to wish him luck and a smooth road. He's more honest with himself than most people are with themselves.

superman's mom 10-10-2009 @ 11:52AM

Didn't a fight occur because someone made a comment about the way he was dressed and another individual stuck up for him? And, isn't a fight disruptive to school functions? Therefore, the school does have the right to ask him to dress differently as their policy states students need to dress appropriately so as not to disrupt school functions. I don't think they're asking him to dress completely like a boy, but rather to tone it down a bit. They're simply asking him to follow their dress code. If he's not willing to do that, then he'll have to find another school or way of learning.

SKL 10-10-2009 @ 4:49PM

It is easy for a high school girl or boy to find unisex clothes. When I was that age and even in college / grad school, I (a female) wore mostly boys' jeans, boys' track shoes, and unisex t-shirts. In my case, it was to accommodate my relatively narrow hips and wide feet. Nobody thought anything of it, because it didn't stand out from the crowd or make some kind of "statement." I don't see why this youngster couldn't do this. Insisting on using the school as a forum to get attention is not innocent, and it's not fair to the other students. This is the kind of attitude that fuels pro-dress-code arguments.

mark 10-11-2009 @ 3:03PM

looks to me like he has found a clever way to get out of going to school as well as doing what ever he wants including living outside his parents home, this kid is calling the shots. I dont think it is too much to ask that he conform to school rules during school hours, he can be a chick after school