Boys in Eyeliner and Girls in Tuxedos
A recent New York Times article says schools are struggling to balance dress codes with teen sexuality and fashion trends that blur the line between male and female.Do any school social workers out there want to let Social Workers Speak! know how they are handling this dilemma? Leave a comment below.You tube
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Does there have to be a definitive line between male and female? Are there only two genders: male and female? Hmmm…it seems like those are rigid social constructions created by a sexist and heterosexist society.
From NASW Facebook Page:
Laura R.: I am curious why teens expressing fashion trends that blur the line between male and female is considered by social workers to be a dilemma? By using the word dilemma in your topic question, you clearly communicate that you see this as a problem. How are LGBTQ youth or their straight but gender-bending peers supposed to comfortably present … Read Morethemselves to social workers when they already know that many social workers still have an inherent discomfort with non-gender conformity? I think we need to address THAT dilemma before we address students expressing themselves in a way that makes some of us uncomfortable.
From NASW Facebook Page:
Kristin S.: I concur. Why are we creating problems where they do not exist? Who does it harm to dress in tuxedos and wear eyeliner? Aren’t there real dilemmas to be faced in schools, such as illiteracy?
From NASW Facebook Page:
Bob M.: I hear what Laura and Kristin are saying and agree, but only to a point. The problems that arise probably may frequently related to how these teens are seen by the adults in their worlds and by some of the inherent difficulties faced by the LGBTQ community, although it is certainly not the case that all people who participate in these line-blurring activities would fall into that category.
From NASW Facebook Page:
Bob M.: Furthermore, none of these is an actual dilemma. The term “dilemma” means that there are exactly two choices and that each of them has negative consequences.
From NASW Facebook Page:
Social Workers Speak!: Dilemma also means any difficult or perplexing situation. The question was meant to get social workers talking about how they are helping teens handle this situation in a school that may have a dress code that makes it difficult for them to express their identity.