CROSSDRESSING: An elementary school’s crossdressing day has sparked angry comments from parents but seems more nonsensical than righteously outrageous.
By Isabel De La Garza, Senior Writer
“Switch It Up Day,” originally dubbed “Gender Bender Day” by the staff of Tippecanoe School for the Arts and Humanities, had many Milwaukee parents concerned. During the school-sponsored event, boys and girls were encouraged to dress up like the opposite gender. Following complaints from parents who believed the holiday would confuse children’s sexual orientation, the name of the day was changed to “Switch It Up Day” in order to compromise but still keep the technically-not-illegal activity going.
Many parents felt the event was “creepy” and “ridiculous” at an elementary school. Deidri Hernandez, a mother of a second grader, kept her child home and stated that she didn’t “have a problem with the title [but] with the activity” and that “they might as well call it transgender day.” Sam Ward, another parent, expressed objections to the activity. Ward did not want his son to attend school dressed like a girl, as he feels that if you are one gender you should stay that gender and stated that the school was teaching the kids “the wrong lesson about gender.”
The fact of the matter is that the event made no sense whatsoever. Cross-dressing does not remotely show school spirit. It shows that you feel the desire or need to dress up like the opposite gender. The school could have just encouraged students to dress in school colors or organized different activities that are not related to sexuality, such as wearing your clothes backwards or wearing crazy hats, although they do not necessarily relate to school spirit either. Even though the students were probably not thinking about “sexual orientation,” the parents certainly were. According to school board member Terrence Falk, students supposedly created the voluntary event. However, local news agencies reported no students cross-dressed, so that doesn’t make sense other. The fact that teachers participated makes it more likely that they wanted to hold the event.
Regardless, if they wanted to allow cross-dressing, it would make much more sense to just allow it all year round. If the point was to foster more open-mindedness in the children about transgender and transsexual individuals then those individuals should be allowed to dress the way they wish every day of the year. Otherwise, there is absolutely no point. It might as well just not be allowed, especially at this young age at which children are very easily confused. It just complicates their lives more than anything.