I think Morgan Freeman said that when taking about homophobia, and it sums up how I feel about bigotry in general. I live in the South, the bigotry and ignorance capital of the world, and i could write a book about this kind of shit, from my childhood on up to this week. I wish people would get the fuck out of other people's business tbh, what does someone being gay or trans or have to do with some redneck science denier? Not much lol, fucking assholes...
Anyway, this is a lovely lady who's a senior in high school this year who goes to school a few miles from me at White Knoll.
Her name is Anna Foster and she is a trans woman. Ain't she a doll? Here's the situation: she was told she couldn't use the boy's restroom because she would make the boys uncomfortable, and she couldn't use the girl's room because she would make the girls uncomfortable. The solution: she had to use the school nurse's bathroom, on the other side of campus, far from her classes. I'm not sure what the circumstances were (other than the set up because it's obviously fucking silly to sane people like you and I) but out of necessity I'm assuming, she used the girl's room. Once.
She was immediately expelled. Just a few weeks before graduation. Just a few days before prom. After she had been accepted and was making plans to go to college. They threw her education and future out like trash because she needed to pee. This comes after years of being harassed by both students and teachers (actual adult educators who asked her questions about her body during class in front of her peers!!), which administrators never did anything to fix, and being kicked out of her foster home. She currently lives with a family that is doing everything they can to try to fix this, and let her go to prom and graduate with the rest of her friends like a normal teenage girl should be able to do.
As sick as this makes me, and as frustrated as I am, I wasn't surprised to hear about it. Most people around here think that all trans women look like burly bearded men in frilly dresses, and they have no concept of gender fluidity or the difference between biological sex and gender. I can't tell you how many arguments I've been in with people around here that say shit like, "confused about your gender? Check your pants!" And other ignorant statements like that. I can't imagine what Anna has been through, and how strong she must be for never letting all the hate get the better of her.
If you would like to help, there is a petition on change.org you can sign! I haven't checked the numbers since yesterday, but the more signatures the better! Here's the link:
I hope this can get resolved quickly, I know prom is coming up soon!
@rambo @missy @lyxzen
