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Over 66,000 people have signed an electronic petition in support of a 17-year-old, gay student suspended from his school for wearing nail polish.
Trevor Wilkinson attends Clyde High School, near Abilene, in Texas. He says when he returned from Thanksgiving last Monday, he was called aside by a teacher. He was given an in-school suspension (ISS) and told his nail polish violated the school’s dress code for male students.
The school handbook states boys cannot wear make-up or nail polish. However, Wilkinson, and many others, say this is discriminatory and sexist as it does not apply to female students.
“Imagine your school not allowing boys to paint their nails and giving boys iss for it. and the whole administration being okay with it, homophobic and sexist? welcome to west texas🤠” Wilkinson said in a tweet that day.
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On Thursday, Wilkinson was informed by his Principal and Vice-Principal that he could choose to take classes remotely until January, go home and remove his nail polish, or keep the nail polish and remain suspended. He said he was choosing to keep his nail polish.
Wilkinson told KRBC-TV: “Ever since I came out I have been having more issues at Clyde than what I normally would. I really wasn’t surprised that this was a thing. Clyde is very traditional.”
Following his meeting with the Principal, Wilkinson launched a petition urging the school to change its policy. He is being supported by a local LGBTQ advocacy group, Abiline Pride Alliance, among others.
On the petition, Wilkinson said, “I am a gay male and I’m beyond proud. This is unjust and not okay. Help me show that it is okay to express yourself and that the identity that society wants to normalize is not okay. I am a human. I am valid. I should not get in trouble for having my nails done. Sign and share this so people like me don’t have to ever deal with this again. It’s time for a change and that time is now.”
At the time of writing, over 66,000 have signed the petition.
On social media, Wilkinson is getting some high-profile support. Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk tweeted, “Try maybe focusing on these kids education instead of their nails @clydecisd. I stand with you @trevvowilkinson … as I type this with painted nails Nail polish”
Try maybe focusing on these kids education instead of their nails @clydecisd. I stand with you @trevvowilkinson… as I type this with painted nails 💅 https://t.co/KOPVtiCbZj
— Bobby Berk (@bobbyberk) December 5, 2020
The school has issued a statement saying it does not normally change its dress code policy in the middle of a school year.
“The District conducts a diligent and thoughtful review of the dress code on an annual basis,’ it said.
“That review process results in the development of a final dress code that is consistently implemented and enforced during the next school year.
“Parents and students are provided a copy of the dress code prior to the start of each new school year.
“Questions or concerns with the dress code are reviewed individually, and the District cannot share any information regarding a specific student.
“The District appreciates the feedback and input on this issue received from members of the community, and will take this into consideration when it conducts its annual review later this school year.”
Related: Gay guy unleashes epic breakdown of racism, homophobia and Trump in his Texas town
Wilkinson has been overwhelmed by the support he has received. Besides people signing the petition, others have directly contacted the school to complain about Wilkinson’s suspension.
Again, thank you ALL for your support and i’m so happy that WE can all come together and make a much needed change not only in Texas, but everywhere!!! Y’all are amazing!❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/s5loe1irQp
— trevvvv;) (@trevvowilkinson) December 6, 2020
On Instagram, he wrote: “Thank you everyone for your support. I cannot express that enough and I could not have gotten this far without you guys! I know a lot of you have called and emailed my school board – flooding their voicemails and inboxes.
“Thank you for standing alongside me to create change so that students like me can express ourselves in authentic ways in school and focus on our studies rather. As well as ending the gender norms that society has oppressed on us.
“Please continue to call and email but for those of you who want to challenge dangerous gender stereotypes you can join me in painting your nails and rocking them all over Texas and the country. Paint your nails and put #TeamTrevor !!”
Roy Ajax
He knew what the dress code was, whydidn’t he petition for it to be changed before he broke the rules? Everyone wants a big dramatic event.. is he really going to ruin his school year for painted nails? I wonder what his parents think.
Cam
What a shock, this week’s screename for the same old right wing troll ALWAYS defends the people attacking LGBTQ people.
cc423
People like you are the reason these bullies continue to operate unabated. People like you are the reason gay kids kill themselves at an alarming rate. People like you are the reason we continue to fight people like you.
Roy Ajax
cc423
Here’s the thing, rules are put in place for a reason, which is to try and keep order in the school. The parents and students are made aware of the dress code before the school year starts, so he knew this was against the rules. The school has a process to change the rules, but they don’t do it mid-way through the school year. All this kid had to do was petittion for a change for next year, but instead he made it all about himself and made a much bigger deal than it actually is. If you read the mission statement of the petition, it’s all about “me me me me me”. He wanted the trouble.
Kieru
The freedoms you enjoy today as a member of the LGBTQ+ community were achieved not through patient petitioning, but through ‘dramatic events’ designed to shine a light so brightly on inequality that it could no longer be ignored. Legislative enactments came after.
You are concerned that this boy is ruining his school year over the choice to wear nail polish. Shouldn’t you be more concerned that persons in authority are willing to ruin his school year because of something so inconsequential as the choice to paint ones nails?
You are, quite literally, blaming the victim here. He is a minor, he has no authority, no voice to affect change other than his willingness to violate unjust rules. And you’re here arguing that because the rule exists it should be followed…
Under that same logic any gay person persecuted under sodomy laws was rightfully charged. A black person drinking from a ‘whites only’ fountain was the true criminal, not the law itself. And a Jewish person hiding from Nazis during the holocaust was a criminal. Because you know… a rule existed.
Roy Ajax
Kieru
This isn’t a war crime, it’s a school dress code violation. No one is stopping him from wearing nail polish outside of school. The school stated there is a process to go through to change the rules at school that he should’ve just followed.
Cam
@Roy Ajax
How cute, you stated that the rules are there for a reason, but funny how you couldn’t articulate what exact reason there was to suspend a student for doing something that many others are allowed to do.
We get it troll, the LGBTQ people are ALWAYS in the wrong and the bigots are always right in your world.
You’re boring.
Roy Ajax
Cam
Maybe you didn’t go to high school so let me explain. Schools have rules that are based on community and school board standards. This is done to try and keep order within the school, and try to maintain an environment condusive to studying for the students. To answer your question, the “exact reason there was to suspend a student for doing something that many others are allowed to do” is that he knowingly broke the rule against boys wearing nail polish. Rules aren’t always fair, the girls are allowed to wear nail polish, the boys are not. If he really wanted to change this, he could petition the school, have the rule changed, and then happily wear colored nails.
canadiankid
@Roy Ajax you said “Schools have rules that are based on community and school board standards. This is done to try and keep order within the school, and try to maintain an environment condusive to studying for the students.”
How does a boy wearing nail polish affect any of those things? You misspelled conducive too.
Roy Ajax
Conducive. In the vault now.
I’m not arguing that this rule is fair, I stated that not all rules are fair. Now he can go to the school board and argue to have the rule changed, and most likely win. That would’ve been a better way to gain respect from the board, rather than putting the school on blast online. Of course, if he does win and the board finds the rule is unfair, they can ban all nail polish for everyone.
MacAdvisor
Roy, let me introduce you to a Federal issue called, “standing.” Roy, meet Standing, Standing meet Roy. Standing is the Federal requirement that one must have suffered an actual, addressable, present harm before one can sue for redress in Federal court. The complaint cannot be hypothetical or possible, it must be present and real. Thus, whether or not the young man complained about the nail polish ban ahead of time, he can’t sue in Federal court to enforce his First Amendment Right to self-expression until he wears the polish. For the school to prevent him, they would have to show a lack of a ban of nail polish on men would somehow interfere with the proper order and operation of the school, a tall order when they permit it for women. Moreover, they would have to show the sex-based ban was based on more than sex stereotyping. I doubt the school can meet this burden. Thus, the young man has acted correctly. His rights were breached, he has stuck to his position, and the school will lose in court after spending money better spent advancing real educational goals. One doesn’t get to breach Constitutional rights by saying one only reviews polices once per year. Once a breach of rights is brought to one’s attention, that is the time for a review. The school is wrong and that will be shown soon enough.
Roy Ajax
MacAdvisor
I’m not talking about lawsuits, I’m talking about going to a High School board and having them change their rules. And based on your reply to liondash, below, you are basically agreeing with my stance that schools can apply dress-code rules.
RFD
Oh please! This is a stupid rule that should never have been in place. No need to wait to fight for what is right! And so what if it is about him? It is! Kind of like others pushing the bounds. They are the ones doing and fighting and not just sitting behind a keyboard complaining.
Cam
@Roy Ajax
Sweetie, we get it, no matter what screename you are under, it’s always the same. The LGBTQ person is always wrong.
Ya boring.
Openminded
1.STUPID RULE. For Christ F’ing sakes, its just nail polish!! Not like he was walking around with some wild colorful wig and loud clothes on causing distractions. If anyone was distracted by his nails, they have a personal problem they need to address. Girls with big tits distract a ton of boys in H.S., but I have never seen big tits prohibited in school.
2.Claim that they don’t change their “rules” in the middle of the year is ANOTHER STUPID RULE. Ajax, maybe it’s this kids “rule” not to petition for change. Surely he the right to his own rules.
3.Ajax’s claim that he should have petitioned first is worthless. Kids get the “rule book” on the first day of school. A bit too late to petition for change with a system that admits they won’t change for a year.
4.I’m betting this same system “changed the rules mid year” when Covid hit. Granted, that is a medical crisis, but mid year change can happen and should happen when something is wrong.
5.To have even considered, adopted, and written this rule into place shows how narrow minded this school is. This might have been acceptable policy 40 years ago, but not today.
Oso Coqui
“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” Assata Shakur
Roy Ajax
Oso Coqui
Are you really quoting a convicted murderer?
jgaustad
Like I understand that you think that a child has a responsibility to not upset bigots and that people creating sexist policies dont have the ability to go “oh this rule is dumb unproductive and only applied to some students let’s not suspend this kid for no good reason” but ur wrong on both counts.
jgaustad
Like literally what is forcing administrators to follow this bad policy? In what way is order disrupted if someone rubs a few brain cells together and says “oh wow so we’re handing out punishments to feminine boys for doing something non disruptive that hurts nobody that seems bad”? Your premise is basically legalism lite- the kids in the wrong cause he broke a rule- but the reality is that civil disobedience has done more for marginalized peoples rights than polite requests. If a rule or law is unjust why shouldn’t this kid call attention to it so the issue extends beyond his CLEARLY bigoted school district?
Cam
Two problems, if they allow women to wear polish they can sue for gender discrimination. And If school officials attempt to punish students who exercise their expressive rights by wearing buttons, writing on fingernails, or protest messages on shirts, etc., they could find themselves slapped with protected-speech or petition action lawsuits.
[email protected]
Go! I’m behind you 100%. This school has no right to tell you how to dress. Period. Xx
MacAdvisor
I appreciate your zeal, but you have gone a little far. Schools have the ability to tell students how to dress. School uniforms have been upheld and clothing that interferes with the proper order and operation of schools can be controlled. The famous Bong Hits for Jesus case, more accurately called Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007), makes clear the long arm schools have in controlling expression. That said, I think this ban sex-based ban on nail polish goes too far. Schools do, however, have some ability to tell students (and staff) how to dress.
montegutdude
Generally, schools can ban anything deemed disruptive to the learning environment. Certain slogans on tee shirts, certain hair colors, etc. are routinely not allowed. So these standards will vary state to state (what is disruptive in Alabama might not be an issue in California.) But as this is Texas, despite the petition, I wouldn’t expect to see a gender nonconforming dress code there any time soon.
WSnyder
We should all support this Kid for his courage. Changing a School Policy like this is not going to be done by filling out some dumb form in triplicate, speaking up at school board meetings or sitting down with the Principle and Superintendent. The very statements issued by the school district show the resistance and tried and true bloated bureaucracy that moves slower than my 1986 AOL downloads. Change, real change, comes when you shine a spotlight on a outdated, unjust policy and bring public attention to bear.
Don’t listen to the dullards who double-down on ‘working with-in the system’. Systems that HAVE such policies are by their very nature inherently broken and won’t change using their own glacially slow methods. This kid has already shown that to even get the school district to acknowledge the issue took dramatic action.
Trevor, you Go Gurl. Proud of you.
DennisBTR
This sounds like a case for the ACLU and/or Lambda Legal. It seems clear that this policy is an unconstitutional policy that discriminates on the basis of sex.
Sue the school board and it will get their attention very quickly.
rock9221
I wish the young man well. He’s not asking for anything that would harm anyone or impede the school in any way. Standing up for what is right sometimes is disruptive. Confrontation makes us all think. Rosa Parks could have sat in the back of the bus and still got home on time. Yet, she felt she needed to make a point. Good for her, good for Trevor Wilkinson. He chooses to be a light instead of sitting in the dark. Regardless of how his case turns out – and this is Texas we’re talking about – he made it a little better for the next kid. Bravo.
Ryan99
My rule is that I get to punch nazis in the face. They complain about the rule, but I pointed out I made the rule last year, so they have to wait until next year to complain about getting punched in the face.
cause we can only change rules once a year, right?
Terrycloth
What is he going to do when he gets out in the world and tries for a job.they see his painted nail and dont come out and say so or dont hire him..or he dosent wear any nail polish gets a job goes to.work with them.painted…the boss says to wash it off or go home and dont come back until you.do..then what…there are always rules…
..
Cam
Except there are tons of workplaces out there that wouldn’t care.
WSnyder
Do you think that every workplace has outdated ‘Conservative’ policies like his school board? Do you think he’s going to want to work at a place that has such policies? What if he wants to work at a Gay Cultural Center? Youth Center? Nail Saloon? Hand Model? Maybe he’ll get hired someplace that looks at his talent and skill sets more than his fingernails. Not everyone wants to be made from the same cookie cutter and not everyone wants to become another cog in a corporate machine.
The ‘Old Standards’ that made the country what it is today will not be the standards that carry us into the future. People who live by those Old Standards are stuck in the past and will never fit into the future.
Openminded
There is, technically, no law that says one must go out and get a job. There are laws that require this kid to go to school. I’ll give employers a little more leeway on how employees present themselves to paying customers because, in the end, the customer is actually the boss since it is their revenue the business is trying to get. That said, there are plenty of lenient places of employment or you can seek out a job where you do not contact the paying customers and therefore do not jeopardize the possible loss of income by offending some prude customer.
I’m all about kids learning to play by the rules, but I also want kids to learn to speak out when something is not fair. (Something most kids are excellent at recognizing and doing) I remember “rules” that didn’t allow for being gay. Where would the LGBTQ community be today if nobody had spoke out against that rule?
Essie
It never ceases to amaze me what these school boards choose to fall on their swords for. A boy wearing nail polish?? So what? It’s nail polish. It’s not harmful to anyone; it’s just an expression. What does normal mean anyway? Just let it go.
I remember back in the 60s when I was in high school and girls had to wear their skirts at a certain length. The authorities would make us kneel on the floor and if our skirt didn’t touch the floor it meant the skirt was too short and we were sent home. I always conformed to the rules, which made me angry but I applauded the girls who didn’t follow the rules. It made for some epic meltdowns. By the time I got out in 1964, none of the teachers cared enough to enforce the rules. It’s a shame that a half century later schools are still trying to make kids conform.
TheAbsoluteTRUTH
It’s 2020 there are no rules and good orderly discipline according to liberals what a shock
Cam
Except the right wing troll account can’t explain how this guy wearing polish will somehow create chaos in schools.
Roy Ajax
Cam
I outlined the issue in the thread above when you first asked me to explain it to you. If you still don’t understand then there is nothing else I can add. Maybe if you read it again very slowly you’ll get what i’m saying.
Openminded
Ajax, I’m with Cam on this. You still have not explained to me how a boy wearing nail polish would harm other’s learning experience. I understand you said he shouldn’t have broken any rule in place, no matter how wrong the rule is. This kid is obviously up against a group of backwards people who would likely have ignored any attempt to go thru the channels to change this rule. I’m betting there isn’t even any channels in place to petition for change. My 60+ years of experience with people this backwards has been that they ain’t gonna change for nobody because they think they know they are right.
Personally, I think his nails looked pretty cool. Much better than what some Goth girl would have on her nails. (Sorry Goth lovers, not my thing) It’s truly sad that this system doesn’t realize they have a chance to let this kid show the “straight” kids that in real life people are not all the same but that almost all of them are still good people.
Cam
@Roy Ajax
No matter your screename you keep trying the same BS. When you can’t defend your position, you always claim you already stated it, but for some reason can’t say what you said.
The fact remains, that you are only on here to continually defend anybody who is attacking LGBTQ people.
Cam
@Roy Ajax
Oh, and sweetie if you’re going to respond to my comment, you may want to check and make sure you’re still under the same screename that made the original comment.
Ooooops, the right wing troll messed up again!
Mack
It’s Texas so bigotry is a big thing there.
willcutabitch
@Roy Ajax, you’ve skirted the question repeatedly. I’ll repeat it. How does wearing nail polish create a non-conducive learning environment?
Roy Ajax
I haven’t skirted the question. I’m not on the board that made that decision. I don’t know what the town is like and I don’t know what the people there are like. I can guess as to a few reasons but I could be way off. Can this kid become a victim of bullying because of the nails? Sure. Is that the problem? I don’t know. The school might just have a very strict dress code, they can do that. Way back in the day I was sent home from high school for not wearing the proper school tie. My point is the rule is there, i’m not advocating for it or against it, but i’m saying that he knew it was a rule and he broke it then put the school on blast online, creating a giant stink when really it should’ve been dealt with between the school and the parents.
willcutabitch
“Theabsolutetruth” implied that this rule was necessary for good orderly discipline. Cam posed the question how will this guy wearing nail polish somehow create chaos. You said that it was outlined in the thread above. Try again.
Roy Ajax
Cam’s original question to me was why was the boy was disciplined butthe girls were not. I answered it saying that he broke the rules of his high school, but who knows why the rule is in place. His question to theabsolutetruth was a variation on the same, so i told him to re-read what I had written. His question is a bit loaded because if i answered it the way he wanted, no matter what the reply, he’d come back with “That is not valid” Again. I’m not saying I know the reason for the rule for this particular school… he broke it and they have a right to disciple him.
Cam
@Roy Ajax
Except you’re lying. My comment was, that in court cases, it has been seen as gender discrimination if for example, women can wear earrings but men can’t.
But it’s cute you have to lie to try to back up your non-point. Your only motivation is, anything that any LGBTQ person does is wrong, and you will always try to invent any excuse to defend whomever is attacking them.
Just like you did with the board.
Oh, and your comment that maybe the kid would get bullied for wearing nail polish and that was the board’s motivation is EXACTLY the same argument used in the Middle East to keep women veiled, i.e. if they aren’t veiled somebody might attack them.
So once again, thank you for proving how much in common the American Republican’s have with radical religions worldwide.
Tombear
He should of worked within the system to change the rules. Less stress on everyone. He has lived in Texas his whole life and he knows what those Texans think about gay people. Change within the system!
Cam
Yeah, just like those black people shouldn’t have protested against Jim Crow laws and for their civil rights. Work within the system, much less stress…….except for the victims.
Oso Coqui
Decades ago, girls were not allowed to wear pants to school. Any girl who wore pants was either suspended (pre-in-school suspension). Girls from multiple schools united and picked a day and just about every girl wore pants, Threw the district into a frenzy as they couldn’t suspend all the girls. By the end of the day, the policy was changed. Dress codes are arbitrary and not enforced equally. We’ve had students of color sent home, suspended for their hair, girls sent home for wearing a tank top but not boys. When schools go towards uniforms they go the route of a gender-neutral uniform that both girls & boys can wear. There is no reason for the suspension except to enforced some gender stereotype. Schools would do best to return to education and leave the policing of fashion to Project Runway.
Roy Ajax
I’m going to paraphrase my best friend Cam and say, show me the receipts.
Cam
@Roy Ajax
No matter what screename the right wing troll account is under, it can’t hide its obsession with me for long.
Dannyzackery
Yeah another gay kid asking to be more feminine. Why couldnt he be straight.
wooly101
Okay, let’s allow the nails, what next a dress? Obviously the little queen is making it her moment. It is a rule good or bad yet a rule that has to be followed. We’re just going to erase centuries of tradition now because one guy needs to wear nail polish to feel whole. Give me a break.
Cam
Centuries of tradition ….hmmm, you mean like women not being allowed to own property? Or Vote? Like Black people being slaves? Like Asian people only being allowed to immigrate to the U.S. to work, but no Asian woman being allowed to immigrate over with their husbands, like if a woman is raped her being forced to marry the rapist because she’s now tainted?
Traditions like that?
whateverokok
There is no victim here. The kid broke the rules and got in trouble for it. It’s not as like he was denied some fundamental right or anything. There is guaranteed right allowing men to wear to nail polish. Or even skirts for that matter. There are many places in life with a dress code. You cannot escape it. There are lots of things I find inane or stupid. Doesn’t mean I can ignore and do what I want. Nor will ignoring it make it go away.
Cam
Except there ARE laws for equal treatment, and the laws have been upheld that if you say men can’t wear earrings, women can’t either.
So you know, there’s the actual facts. Or we could go with what you said.
Roy Ajax
Cam
Please show us proof of where “… the laws have been upheld that if you say men can’t wear earrings, women can’t either.”
I’m finding it hard to believe that’s a “fact”