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Cole Gofort, a gay fifteen-year-old Tennessee high school student, bought a t-shirt at the mall that reads “I
The situation is a little less dramatic than Constance McMillen’s prom fight, but equally ridiculous about gay teens being excoriated by school districts.
Either way, his mother is The Awesome.
UPDATE: Tweets Lady Gaga: “Thank u for wearing your tee-shirt proud at school, you make me so proud, at the monsterball, you are an inspiration to us all. I love you.X”
[WSMV]
Derrick
LOL, I live in California, that shit wouldn’t fly at the high school I went to.
What bugs me about this story is that not only is he playing the gay card, they’re also insinuating that his freedom of speech is somehow being muffled. He’s not making any sort of statement about anything, he’s wearing for attention.
There’s a fair amount of bureaucracy in high schools, but you’re really going to go to the school board make a fuss over a fucking T-Shirt? They’ve got more important stuff to worry about.
So they deemed your shirt inappropriate, don’t wear it! Suck it up and be a man, don’t call the local news and cry about it. I’m sure if they whine about it enough, the school will change their minds. WHAT A VICTORY!
How about going to school to, I don’t know, learn something?
graham
So basically they don’t care if someone wears a shirt with the confederate flag… but “I <3 Lady Gay Gay" is over the line?
At the very least, the school board needs to have a more specific dress code, one that is consistent from school to school. Leaving it up to the personal interpretation of each principal is a bad idea.
julie
If he’s surviving in his school with the eyeliner and those bangs, the shirt isn’t going to incite anything.
sam
Has anyone seen Gaga’s response to this? Love that girl 😀
This kid isn’t looking for attention cos of his shirt. He’s wearing a shirt that he likes, that i’m sure amuses him (it amused me. thats why I bought it from the Monster Ball)
that he can’t wear it, whilst kids can wear their I <3 Jesus shirts is a travesty.
fredo777
@Derrick: How about putting a sock in it?
jason
Lady Gaga is not gay-friendly. She has failed to put any male-male sensuality in her music videos. She’s a phony as far as I’m concerned.
However, she is adept at exploiting gay male naivety to market herself.
fredo777
@jason: you stfu, too.
robert
@Derrick:
apparently, derrick, the school doesn’t have anything more important to worry about if they spend their time policing students’ t-shirt choices.
Steven
Well of Lady Gaga isn’t gay friendly, she sure is wasting her time with gay charities. Just saying. And she hasn’t shown any male on male sensuality, but did you watch the telephone video? Apparently not.
jason
For someone who claims she loves gay men, Lady Gaga sure seems averse to showing any male-male sensuality in her music videos. Why’s that? Is she afraid of offending those who are homophobic towards gay men? Seems like it.
I think she should change her name to Lady Phony.
Steven
@jason: If you don’t like her because you believe she is fake, don’t buy her music. If we’re being delusional, then we will have wasted our money. Even if she is fake, she is doing far more good than bad with her advocacy. And its my money, its not like I was going to spend it on anything more substantial or world changing.
Plus Cyndi Lauper was willing to work with her, and if Cyndi trusts her, then I trust her. And there is no way you can argue that Cyndi is not an ally. I dare you to try.
Daniel
He survives highschool because his mum is a milf.
Aaron in Honolulu
@Derrick:
Judging by the length or your rant, you sound more bitter than reasonable. You are basically telling Cole to shut up and stay quite. It’s you that needs to shut up. This kind of exposure Cole is receiving is making people talk and discuss. Other students around the country who see his story along with the many other brave young gay Americans who have done the same will soon gain the courage to challenge their own school’s homophobic policies and actions.
Minorities have never won victories through staying silent.
terrwill
You know the school has been laying in wait to find something to nail this kid on. His looks must have lots of panties all bunched up real tight……..Wanna bet the school is going to place a ban on all tee shirts with messages so as to make this kid a target like what seems to be the trend lately????
mulletkitty
It’s really sad to see a commentator tell a gay kid, for whom high school can be living hell, to stop bringing abuse on himself for being himself.
Gay history has been full of attention whores, drama queens, and those who willingly, even painfully stuck out and refused to stfu. Thank god for them. We owe them an unending debt of gratitude.
The school’s response is typical: rather than discipline those who started a fight, they want the gay kid to “tone it down” and not “provoke” other people’s prejudice.
These schools deserve the sh*tstorm of publicity they bring upon themselves. Have you not been following the “fake prom” that administrators tacitly put in place to offset the judge’s injunction order?
Cumstain Jane.
@jason: gay dudes aren’t the center of the universe, and every instance of woman+woman sensuality in the media isn’t just for the tease factor.
Why don’t you just tell us your real reasoning for not liking lady gaga and be honest once instead of wrapping you distaste for a popstar in a defense of gay people. It’s dishonest and really transparent.