Oakleigh Reed was born Oakleigh Marie, but now the FTM transgender student goes by Oakleigh Marshall, or sometimes just Oak. He was voted homecoming king by his fellow students at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon, in Western Michigan. Until administrators robbed him of the title.
Which must’ve been a bizarre scenario for Oak, given teachers have grown accustomed to using male pronouns when referring to him, and he was able to wear a tux for his band uniform, and he’s donning the male cap and gown at graduation. So when his one-day Facebook campaigning for homecoming king yielded a win, he was surprised when the principal called him into her office and told Oak that because he’s registered at the school as a woman, he can’t keep the homecoming king prize.
So while it’s nice so many students had his back and voted for him, Oak says “sometimes it’s nice to have something tangible.”
Sara Beth
I must comment regarding a terminology issue in this headline.
Oak was not “Born a Woman”.
“Womanhood is the period in a female’s life after she has transitioned through childhood and adolescence, generally age 18.” [simple Wiki definition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman%5D
A woman has experiences in life that form her identity. A child is born and judged based on outward physical appearance. Oak was born in a female body – or intersexed body – but that is none of our business.
The headline implies that Oak somehow identified female.
Oak is my King.
I was thinking… maybe we all need to stop.
Oak didn’t ask to be a world-wide-poster-boy for this subject.
Oak isn’t asking for support… the movement is by friends. What may have seemed like a good idea in the beginning, in hindsight, is outing a young man in a grand public forum.
Richard
Sounds like an impressive young man. Gay, straight, trans, whatever, we need more young people who are as together as he is.
Its rather telling that there is a lack of empathy for him simply because he’s “trans” and not gay. I wonder how many dozens of sympathetic responses he’d have gotten if he’d been yet another gay youth suicide, instead of a trans man who is mature and articulate enough to make this happen.
Jake
I can’t believe that MY alma mater made it into national news. Sadly, it’s for this. I am encouraged by the outpouring of his classmates’ support though. I’m looking forward to getting one of the “Oak is My King” T-shirts that some locals are making.
Vman455
@Sara Beth: “Maybe we all need to stop”–good luck with that. I heard about this on a local radio station on the West coast two days before it showed up here. For better or worse, it’s already out there…
Aaron in Honolulu
Wow, Oak is kinda hot. lol