October 19, 2009
-
Lesbian Student Fights for Tuxedo Photo
A 17-year-old lesbian student is fighting for the right to wear a tuxedo in her senior photo for her school yearbook. (I received this story from Heartofpandora).
The school has traditionally had females wearing drapes and males wearing tuxedos. But Ceara Sturgis wants to have the right to dress in the tux. Here is the link: Link
Should the school allow the girl to wear a tux for the yearbook?
Comments (155)
Who cares what the girl wears? No one looks at their senior photos after senior year anyway.
Yeah!
Yes, absolutely. Why not?
of course….
Being gay doesn’t excuse her from being a girl. She’s still a girl, so what’s the big deal in wearing drapes? She’s not some special exception just because of her sexual orientation.
i dunno.
then would they have to let her wear the same color gown as the boys on graduation day?
She isn’t asking to pose nude, she wants to wear a tux. Let her wear what she wants.
No, I don’t think so. I mean if it’s a school policy why should she get special privilages to wear what she wants when everyone else has to follow the dress code?
She’s got balls.
I like that.
@MsKittyCatty - @KimisBarbie - Both interesting thoughts I hadn’t thought of before commenting. Hate when that happens.
Shit, chicks in suits are hot.
It’s her choice…
But just cuz she is a lesbain, does not mean that she should mess with what has been the way of things..
Gay or not, they should be able to chose whatever they like for the occasion.
She should be allowed to wear whatever the hell she wants to.
@gwacemom@momaroo - Yeah, that happens to me too. Or when someone has already said my point but said it better.
Yes.
that’s just stupid. let her wear the fucking tuxedo.
@KimisBarbie - Most schools have the same color gown for everyone, I think.
let her be herself
If they do, then they should allow ALL girls to have that same option. And they should allow boys to wear drapes if they want to.
At my high school, almost all of the lesbian girls wore tuxes in their pics. It’s not that big of a deal, no one had a problem with it.
well.. its her choice. but then again – what if a boy wanted to wear the drape?
I think the clothes just represent biological gender – not sexual orientation.
this is a tough one.
better than the cleavage pictures frequenting the pages of my yearbook.
Yeah sure. Unless the school normally has uniforms.
@the_evil_tamica - no way. most schools I’ve seen have different color gowns for girls and boys.
Yes, why not?!
fo’sho.
@raspberryjade - Really? I live in southern California, and every single graduation I’ve been to has had the same color gowns for boys and girls, including my own graduation this year. Where do you live?
@NikBv - i agree.
I don’t think they should dictate what students can and can’t wear for their pictures.
Yes.
It’s a tux, it’s not like she’s wearing stickers on her nipples and a banana in a bikini bottom.
@the_evil_tamica - east coast.. almost every high school here has the dual color graduations.. weird! haha
Absolutely.
Yesh. Why shouldn’t she?
@raspberryjade - Woah. I had no idea east coast/west coast graduations were different like that, haha. I wonder why that is?
But this also raises the question, should a guy be allowed to wear the drapes?
@the_evil_tamica - My school had one color for boys, and one for girls. Most schools around here are the same way. Maybe it’s just an Ohio thing.
Technically, they are violating her first amendment right to free speech, which includes clothing style. As long as it is not racist, profane, etc., they have no reason to not let her wear what she wants.
Its tradition get over it. Gay, str8 doesnt matter thats what u have to wear its tradition. I didnt want to wear that stupid drape and also it looks better in the yearbook when everyone is the same. Its cute and all but idk.
sure why not
why not ?
we had the choice for our senior photos.
@MsKittyCatty - So who says girls shouldn’t be allowed to wear tuxedos? Women = dresses & men = tuxes… it all adds up to sexism.
it’s an idiotic battle to wage, but just let her wear it, if she’s got nothing more important to fight for.
She could opt out of the photo if she’s displeased with what they want her to wear.
It is her senior year, let her wear what she wants!
i think she has every right in the world to be herself. it’s MORE than a school photo to her, it’s how she is NOW at this time and she wants to be remembered this way. i am proud of her and i hope she gets this.
She should be able to wear whatever she wants
They shouldn’t care. And damn, there are schools that do full body pics? Mine wouldn’t allow too much below the collar bone.
@KimisBarbie - Some schools have different colors.
My school didn’t but when I found out my friend’s school did that — wtf happened to equality moment.
It’s a tasteful formal outfit. I really don’t see why not, or even what her sexual orientation has to do with it.
Yes. How is this even a question.
@MsKittyCatty - Why should a school tell someone, anyone, what they should wear? The yearbook isn’t for the school. It is for the students. Schools should have a gender neutral policy.
What she has to wear isn’t based on her sexuality. Girls have to wear drapes no matter who they are sexually attracted to. Just like the guys have to wear the tuxes no matter who they are sexually attracted to. They’re not discriminating against her sexuality at all. It’s a gender thing, so she should stop crusading and wear what she’s supposed to wear because they’re not trying to single her out.
there was a lesbian in my school (who graduated last year) who actually wore a dress and put her hair down for her senior picture.
she actually looked really nice. and it wasn’t like she just denied her sexuality by choosing not to wear a tux. she chose to express it some other way, instead of stirring up drama and controversy.
Of course she should be able to! This infuriates me. Grrr.
Why is this even an issue? Having students wear a drape or tuxedo is getting to be such an archaic thing in senior photography anyway…the school should just have guidelines of having the student be in a certain pose and wearing a certain kind of shirt with a specific backdrop so everyone looks uniform, but with elements of uniqueness. Senior photos aren’t about looking uniform anymore…
I thought you meant a lesbian physically fighting over a photo, lol.
“if we make an exception for one…..” I think as long as she’s clean it’s ok myself.
@HeartOfPandora - I’m just saying she shouldn’t get an exception. They should either make it to where anyone can wear what they want or she shouldn’t be able to wear a tuxedo. It’s what’s fair.
@MsKittyCatty - @BeKa28 - I agree. This is about gender, not sexual orientation. If you make such an exception for one student, why make everyone else conform?
@misuriver - She just shouldn’t have an exception. If the school made it to where anyone could wear what they wanted, that would be fine, but she shouldn’t get special treatment and everyone else still have to abide by the rule. All or none.
@DirtyAndShaken - Thanks!
@misuriver - ever heard of a uniform?
as others have said, she’s a female, wearing the drape should not be such a big deal to her. it doesn’t represent her sexual orientation, simply her sex, it’s not discriminatory. not to mention, it’s a part of the dresscode, and no matter how ridiculous it is, she as a student is obligated to follow it.
Of course.
best she not be allowed to have her pic taken,,, i mean,,, would you want your pic took standing beside her??? hahahahahaha,,, i think not…
A dubious argument. I wonder if they’d let her wear it if she were the class president, cheerleader, or heterosexual… Answer being, why does anyone care?
Why not? Also, that’s a suit, not a tux.
Hang on…but this is a school wide policy that just says girls wear drapes, boys wear tuxes. It has nothing to do with her orientation –she’s a lesbian, which means she identifies as a woman. If she were a transgender and identified as male but wasn’t allowed to wear the tux, I would definitely support her. This case though…it has nothing to do with her orientation, since straight females also aren’t allowed to wear tuxes.
Yes.
Why is this even news?
@MsKittyCatty - Fair would be everyone wearing robes like we had to wear in choir – exactly the same (and really itchy, mind you). No male / female discrimination in that. Senior photos (or school photos in general) should be about capturing who you are in your last year of high school – not making you look like some military school graduate with no imagination in dress.
That said, I think senior photos are a bunch of overpriced bs and will personally be “not pictured.”
I think they should be able to wear whatever they want for senior pics. I know the school wants uniformity, but senior pics are for the STUDENTS, not the school. It’s not going to ruin the yearbook if everyone isn’t dressed alike. And seriously, haven’t we ALL seen the girl who just looks RIDICULOUS in some frou-frou drape?
welll they could appreciate the fact that she wants a tux instead of something like this: Exposure hahaaa just kidding ._.
@AibellFaeire - lol true
@viewfromnihil - Because there hasn’t been a giant silver balloon aimlessly flying around since Thursday…
yes.
xo
actually that is kind of stylist why not?
yea. sure.
and let that weirdo kid in the class wear his favorite dinosaur costume, and let that mindy the slut wear nothing but her air-braetc.
Lesbian or not, she should be able to wear whatever she wants. This has nothing to do with sexual orientation; this is a free country!
if she wasn’t a lesbian would this have even been elevated as an issue? Are the criticizing the fashions of any of the other how many hundreds of students?…
yes…what does it matter? why are we still stuck on the traditional ideas of how a woman and man should dress?
She should be allowed.
That should not even be an issue,there are lots worse things to deal with.
Yeah. Who cares? Let them wear tuxedos!
yes.
There were two senior girls that I graduated last year who wore tuxes. It’s not a big deal, really.
Okay, it’s just a black drape, usually from head up. She should just get over herself. I had to do one and so did all the lesbians at my school, and we had no complaints.
Umm…YES.
i dont think she should be allowed to wear it
yes…
but then again, it’s a tradition thing, and i think she might just be doing it just do speak out.
I think since this is more of a uniform issue, she should have to wear the drape. She is a lesbian, not a boy. She needs to grow up and learn when it’s appropriate to act out.
Anyways, most senior photo shoots they give you some non-uniform pictures where you can wear anything decent and take some fun pictures. She can wear the tuxedo there if she wants.
If those are the things that the school traditionally wears then suck it up. Stop looking for attention because you are a bit different.
@XactiLucius - What harm could come from it?
“traditionally” doesn’t mean set in stone
also, it’d be quite something if she was a transsexual….. damn that’d be a flame war
lol her last name is sturgis like sturgis podmore from harry potter
and LOL IT’S FROM THE BIBLE BELT AREA HAHAH
@MsKittyCatty - thats kinda where im at.
i feel like this has more to do with gender identity than her being a lesbian.
Part of me says that it doesn’t matter if she’s a lesbian or not. It’s a tradition for that school. If she was allowed to wear a tuxedo, it could be possible that everyone else would want to wear what they wanted. Maybe not, but it’s still possible. Then that school tradition would be broken.
I don’t know, it’s like half and half for me.
if it’s a school tradition to wear drapes, why can’t she just humor them? i mean, does wearing drapes go severely against gay rights? who even cares what she thinks! it’s a school rule after all.
Absolutely. It’s her choice. I had a friend who graduated a year before me who was a lesbian. She wore a tux for her senior photo. No one saw it as a big deal. It’s how you’ll be remembered, so shouldn’t you have a say in that?
I don’t think the school should deny it but good God, she knows she’s a woman, why can’t she follow the tradition?
I fail to see what her being a lesbian has to do with it.
If the tuxedos and drapes are merely tradition, there’s no point in sticking to arbitrary norms of dress when a deviation from precedent could make someone happy without adverse effects on anyone else.
If, however, the uniform is official school policy, then she has either implicitly or explicitly agreed to the terms of her education and other school-provided benefits by making use of them. Under such a circumstance, she’s still free to wear what she likes because of her first amendment rights, but doing so voids the school’s obligation to her i.e. the privilege of having her photo in the yearbook.
@grammarboy - And this is why I love you. You’re brilliant. That is all.
I think a girl or two at might school did….I don’t know who they were, just saw them in the yearbook doing it….unless they were really guys
In a public school, she should absolutely have the right. In a private school, it’s shadier.
No, girls wear dresses. If anything, she should be fighting for gender equality.
Yes.
I personally don’t care, but I have to wonder…she surely wouldn’t want to be treated differently because she is a lesbian, nor should she be…yet she is bringing her difference to the forefront here. Just a thought.
Kathi
@raspberryjade - ha if the girl wants to wear a tux, let her wear a tux! and a guy in drapes would be awesome! at my school that person would be the coolest ever!
@grammarboy - good point!!
I think she should be able to wear a tux, hell what ever happened to freedom of speech?
~Alexx
the girl is suffering from attention deficiency. let her be excluded from the photo.
Our school’s tradition is also the same: tux for boys and drapes for girls, but my friend asked the photographers, and she was allowed to sport a tux look. Why not let the girl do it?
Yes.
of course she should. damn that’s like against that one amendment [im having a brain fart haha. can't think]
@MsKittyCatty - i agree. if it was a matter of gender identity and she believed that she was a male in a female’s body and wanted to then i’d say sure why not. but she’s lesbian. the tux and drape thing has nothing to do with sexual orientation. why mess with something that’s been that way for decades? it’s not like taking a picture in the drape is against gay rights or anything. i think she should just get over it and take the picture. it’s just ONE picture. stop trying to get attention by making a big deal out of nothing.
what’s the background on this? school? religious? private? etc. thanks!
Drapes? Perhaps I’ve been living under a rock, but I thought drapes were curtains and belonged on windows. I’m going to call them dresses and I’d say the tuxedo is fine. If you don’t want to look at her, move on to the next photo.
Ethically, I am not opposed to her right to wear whatever she chooses. However, this is a school environment and certain standards must be maintained. She can dress like a man as much as she wants after graduation.
She can take them naked, for all I care.
At my school, we didnt dress up like that,we did our cap and gowns (the girls in white and the guys in blue) but its her picture and she should wear whatever the hell she wants.
Why on earth not? Unless it’s a hard and fast rule, in which case this young lady should simply bite the bullet, wear the drape, and call it one of those things you have to deal with in life. Frankly, I bet there are heterosexual girls in that school who would love to wear an awesome tuxedo. I would!!
personally I think the school should change their dumb archaic rules that way they wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with these dumb issues. I was able to wear what I wanted for my senior pictures, as long as it wasn’t too slutty. However, I went to public school.
She looks just like a professional real estate agent? What kind of an ignoramous would give her a hard time over that?
If anyone gave her a hard time in my presence I would remove there head from there asses and replace it with both feet all the way up to my thighs. And I have strong as fuck tree trunk thighs! Time to start kicking some ass!
The tradition is pointless. Let everyone wear jeans and t-shirts if they want or whatever else. Most people will follow the tradition due to peer pressure anyway. So there’s no need for a rule. It only punishes the free thinkers.
Personally, I don’t understand the point of fighting for it, it seems trivial to me. :/ And I’m kind of getting tired of the way people keep shoving lesbian stereotypes into the media one way or another. Not all lesbians like to dress like guys.
But, there are some that do. And on the flip side, I don’t see the real point in stopping her from doing it. I think the school should allow anyone to wear whatever they want to, just so long as they are dressed nicely. A tux is still dressing up, even if it’s on a girl. Truly, if you ask me, the school could’ve spared itself all the publicity over it and just let her do it, and then the only people who would know would be the people who went to the school and their parents. And if you ask me, it’s the type of thing people get over pretty fast.
Or maybe that’s just where I grew up. People would see someone do something “odd” and say, “oh god, why did she/he do that??” but other than that they let it drop. Even the parents.
But, if you allow a person to make a big stink over it, and then have the media get involved, that’s a whole other issue.
As long as the students are dressed up nicely, I don’t see the problem in what they wear. :p
No
Of course, why not? God people are so stupid.
This is not worth fighting over.
ppl confused tradition with actual policy…tradition is not a rule so i see real grounds to deny her
邊度有靚紅酒賣
1. That tuxedo lady is sexy
2. You could either look at it as an equal rights policy or a uniform policy. I think it’s a uniform policy and if you don’t like an institutions uniform, switch schools.
I don’t see any reason why not. Honestly, if she wants to wear a tux, fine. At least she doesn’t want to wear something ridiculous like a wife-beater shirt….
That picture is really hot so maybe that’s the schools real objection
.
I really don’t think schools should be allowed to enforce gender specific dress codes. Why aren’t the guys wearing gowns anyways? That’s what every school I went to did since I was a baby.
What if girls at the school all decided to wear dress suits? That would put them all on a level dress code.
No, I don’t think so. It has nothing to do with the fact she’s homosexual either. It’s soley this: the requirement is for girls to wear their appropriate school picture garb and for guys to wear their’s. I think to allow her to make such a bold statement would be opening up a whole new door that doesn’t need to be opened.
I’m all for making statements and such, however, I believe there is a time and a place for each. I do not believe she should be allowed to, because it just opens so many doors, so to speak, for things that are too complicated for yearbook staff to even have to think about. I was on yearbook staff at my high school for about 3 years.
It’s not like they’re saying “because you’re a lesbian you can’t wear that.” They are simply following the school’s rules for garb. It’s not like she’s been through 4 years of high school without knowing about that. If she was so opposed, perhaps she should have looked into transfering to a nearby school if that was an option? Either way, I just think this is silly, and not to mention kind of immature of anyone who would do that. It’s not like it would kill you to wear it, or even hurt you. You know? Just silly. Tough it out. You’ll be fine…
State who you are effectively, in the right timing and at the right place,
~*Akarui Mitsukai*~
Of course they should let her. My question is, why do the girls have to wear drapes? That seems just weird to me.
I would worry if anybody said “no.” Of course she should be allowed to wear a tux!
yes, they should.
dude.. let her do what she wants! why does she need to fight for this right anyways? its her own decision.
@KimisBarbie - everyone wears the same color.
@akarui_mitsukai - some lesbians aren’t feminine. shes probably the kinda girl who dresses in boys clothing. and doesn’t feel comfortable looking like that in a picture.
@SheBitesSometimes - its just a little thing that looks like a dress. just covers the top of you. they throw it on each girl so they all look like they have the same nice black dress and yet no one has to go out and get one.
definately yes!!! If we ever do look back at our senior pics. we would want to know that we chose to wear whatever we wear. I didn’t wear a dress for mine, so why should she have to.
@kkraziemoonn - Thanks, that makes sense.
@MsKittyCatty - it’s not about being special or wanting special treatment. its about wearing something thats more comfortable to the person in the picture. if shes more comfortable in a tux than in drapes then what’s the big deal?
She should be allowed to. It’s just some ignorant people might not be happy with that.
@LilTCochran - Then the school needs to make it where anyone can wear what they want and not break the rule for this one girl, or YES it is special treatment. It’d be fine if they changed the rules.
@kkraziemoonn - schools around here wear a separate color for boys and girls
I say screw the concept that “girls must dress like girls”. V_V male or female, we have the right to wear whatever the heck we want.
…you can tell it would not go well if I were sent to some school that demanded uniforms, right?
@Drakonskyr - Big Hilary Clinton fan, are we?
@KimisBarbie - Boys and girls wear different colored gowns on graduation day? Both the girls and the guys’ gowns were royal blue at my school.
And absolutely, she should be able to wear what she likes.
weeeird, in canada (or maybe just the west coast) we wear the same colour.. male, female or monkey.
@Morningstarrising - oh. At my school, girls wore red and boys wore blue. And all the schools around here did the same thing, but with their school colors. Maybe it’s just Ohio. haha
@kkraziemoonn - I understand that. But still, by the code, she’s a girl. You know? I have several lesbian friends who dress so much like guys that if I had’ve seen them anywhere but where I saw them, I would have sworn they were guys. haha.
I’m just saying to keep from opening a door of issues and eventually having to loose their nice uniform yearbook photos, it’s best to be uniform with everyone. Make one exception and you’ll be expected to make many more on down the road. You know? 
I’m sayin’ I support anyone being able to make a statement, but I am also a FIRM believer in their being a place and time for each statement a person may want to make — and this isn’t it. n.n; haha. See what I’m saying?
Fine by me. I don’t see any harm in that.
No, if they have a dress code.
Of course! She should be allowed to wear whatever she wants! Granted, I go to a small public school, but our seniors are allowed to where whatever they chose, and no one ever has anything say about it as long as they don’t look like a whore. It is ridiculous that the school would have any say about the outfit she wears, there should be no standards or norms to that.