Teen Wearing Wig Sent Home From School
17-year-old O’Rhonde Chapman likes to wear jumbo gold hoop earrings, long flowing wigs and stiletto heels. So what’s the big deal? To the school administrators of Nimitz High School in Texas, it’s the fact that O’Rhonde was born a “he”. Unhappy with his attire, the school principal recently sent him home.
O’Rhonde affirms that he dresses as a woman every day… but on this particular morning, the student wore a wig and stilettos for the first time–two things that apparently sent the principal over the edge.
The teen feels that he is a victim of discrimination, but a spokesperson for the school district denies it. The educational powers that be claim that O’Rhonde violated the dress code and if he adheres to school policy in the future, he can return to school.
But…the school district dress code rules that hair length extending below the bottom of a shirt collar for boys is taboo. It also states that wigs are not acceptable as a cover-up for hair not meeting the dress code. But there are no rules for the length of wigs and Chapman’s natural hair meets the criteria, so what’s the rub?
Chapman says he plans to stand by his decision and not return to school unless his hair goes with him.
“I believe in fighting for what’s right,” Chapman said.
I’m going to weigh in with a big fat, “Who Cares!?!?” Don’t we want our kids to be exposed to different types of people? Isn’t that a good thing? And how is this kid in any way, shape or form hurting anyone else?
See O’Rhonde here on CNN:
Image: Still from Women Who Wear Wigs 1999
Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York
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Tags: clothing, cross dressing, discrimination, dress code, gay teens, high school, high schools, lgbt, school districts, teenagers, teens
7 Comments
Amanda commented on Nov 05 09 at 10:54 amThe school has every right to ask him to tone it down. School is for education, and a boy dressed like this could be viewed as a distraction to that purpose. School isn’t necessarily a place to espress one’s “individuality” by dressing up however you want. Do that on your own time!
e commented on Nov 05 09 at 10:59 amIt doesn’t sound to me like this boy is “dressing up however he wants.” It sounds like he’s dressing outside of pretty strictly gendered rules. Good for him for standing up for his rights. Public schools need to get out of the business of telling kids who they can and can’t be.
Allys commented on Nov 05 09 at 11:41 amAmanda, I am unsure of what your school experience was like but as for me, dressing as who I was was just as important as the “education” I was getting. Why attend somewhere for hours everyday if you can’t be yourself?
Anyway, I think the kid is being who ‘he’ wants to be. And for those that consider it distracting, I’ll say what I said to my teacher over when I dyed my hair purple; It’s only distracting if I stand on a table and shout “Hey! Check me out!! I’m a distraction!”. I wonder how that kid’s classmates feel about all this. Someone should ask if they have a problem because it’s sounding like only the adults have issues here.
snarky mama commented on Nov 05 09 at 11:46 amReally, though? Stilettos at school? That’s inappropriate no matter who is wearing them.
Bec commented on Nov 05 09 at 1:17 pmBoys aren’t allowed to wear their hair past their shoulders at this school? What’s the justification there, it’s “distracting” again? Is a different ethnicity distracting? Is curly hair? Dye? Perms? Shaved heads are probably acceptable for boys, but are girls allowed to wear their hair cropped? What a terrible dress code.
Samsmomma commented on Nov 05 09 at 1:33 pmWould a Sikh boy be suspended for his hair? (Sikhs grow their hair long and wrap it up in a turban) A particular style of dress is only “distracting” if the children aren’t used to seeing it. Why not let kids dress how they want so that different styles of dress are no longer distracting? (As an aside, I attended a K-12 school that had a strict uniform for K-8 and a lenient dress code for 9-12. I remember a boy who frequently came to school in a bathrobe. It was only distracting the first five minutes, then kids stopped paying attention. My school boasted a 98% rate of sending kids to college, so in my case at least, fashion had no negative impact on education.)
jenny tries too hard commented on Nov 05 09 at 1:35 pmI agree that long hair on boys ought to be permitted, just like short hair on girls, but I think it’s fair to restrict any headcovering to students who have no natural hair or very damaged natural hair from medical treatments or accidents, or students whose religion require headcovering.
And stilettos don’t belong in a classroom. Period. It’s wildly inappropriate and a safety issue to boot.
