Cross-Dressing Dad Pisses Off Right-Thinking St. Louians
I’m not sure what it is about St. Louis, but in the same way that all the loose screws in the country seem to have rattled their way to the edges, where they make life colorful in California and New York, the dim bulbs who want to force their absurdly narrow moral constraints on everyone else seem gravitationally bound to the heartland. It’s probably just a perceptual bias on my part (linking dorks like John Ashcroft with their Missouri locale, while treating those from, say, Orange County, California, as exceptions that “prove the rule”), but there it is: another story that reinforces my pre-existing bias against the middle of the country. Some parents in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles are outraged, it seems, because a parent volunteer who accompanied a bunch of fourth graders on a field trip was not really the tastefully dressed mom that clothing, hair and makeup seemed to indicate. He was a tastefully dressed transsexual dad (stupid L.A. Times login required; cypherpunk98/cypherpunk worked last time I tried). Ohmygod! The horror! True, none of the kids or teachers, or most of the other parent volunteers, cared (or even noticed, in many cases), but at least one of the other parents did, and got his or her panties in such a bunch that the matter has now spread to the local school board, where one boardmember is pushing for the passing of a new policy requiring all parent volunteers to wear “gender-appropriate” clothing at all school functions.
January 5th, 2003 at 11:14 am
Yes, the story itself is interesting, but even moreso is you choice of words to describe the locale of the people who turn this type of benign happening into a major incident…
“The Heartland”? Last I knew, that was the WI/IL/MI/IN area. That greatly concerned me, as I LIVE in WI. I tend to be anything but concervative (as well as anything but liberal — think about that one for a bit) and WI tends to be a generally liberal state.
Anywho, “gender specific clothing”? What about items such as kilts or togas, and the countless other “gender-neutral” clothing types around the world (as I thought they all were)? I can already see this being an issue for a transfer student who decides to don the traditional garb of his people. And what of Halloween?
*sigh* every day is one closer to me moving to a different country.
January 5th, 2003 at 1:21 pm
Your summary of the story is inaccurate on one significant point: the person in question is not a transvestite, but clearly identified as a transsexual in the article. A transexual is a person who feels that he/she has a gender identity not consistent with his/her physical body, and may seek medical options to resolve the inconsistency. A transvestite is someone who enjoys wearing the clothing of the opposite sex, usually for sexual reasons, but lacks the gender conflict inherent in transexuals.
January 5th, 2003 at 10:05 pm
Oops. My bad. “Transvestite” changed to “transsexual.” Thanks for keeping me honest.
John
January 5th, 2003 at 11:07 pm
I’m sorry, but I fail to see how that point is significant to the overall story. I understand and appreciate the differences, but even so, it just boils down to closed-minded people raising a fit for no reason, and coming up with a solution which is not only a violation of rights, but also totally ridiculous.
And don’t try to make the point that the whole gender indecisiveness could lead to one of the childeren being raped, whereas there’s much less of a chance of it happening were it only a transvestite. As we’ve seen in past article(s) regarding stright female teachers as well as those beloved catholic priests, it can come from any source.
Just trying to keep whomever posted with no ID honest ;)
December 16th, 2003 at 2:30 am
Dear Sir/ Madam,
Iam interested in joining your college / University for my further studies in hair dressing so that I may improve on my skills to serve my customers better. Now Iam interested in knowing the duration of the full course, And any other necessary information pertaining my course for international students.
I will be glad for your quick and kind response.
Thanks,
Hope to hear from you soon,
Regards,
Ali Ssenyonga.