...but the school administrators in Lafayette, Louisiana apparently thought otherwise. In November 2003, school district officials punished 7-year-old student Marcus McLaurin for telling a classmate that his mother is gay.

Marcus was waiting in line for recess at Ernest Gallet Elementary School when a classmate asked him about his mother and father. He responded that he didn't have a mother and father; instead he has two mothers. When the other child asked why, Marcus told him that it was because his mother is gay. The other child then asked what that meant, and Marcus explained, "Gay is when a girl likes another girl."

Upon hearing this, Marcus's teacher scolded him in front of his classmates, telling him that "gay" is a bad word and he should never say it at school, then sent him to the principal's office instead of letting him go to recess. Sharon Huff, Marcus' mother, stated, "I was concerned when the assistant principal called and told me my son had said a word so bad that he didn't want to repeat it over the phone, but that was nothing compared to the shock I felt when my little boy came home and told me that his teacher had told him his family is a dirty word. No child should ever hear that, especially not from a teacher he trusted and respected." The following week the school required Marcus to attend a special behavioral clinic at 6:45 in the morning, where he was forced to repeatedly write "I will never use the word gay in school again."

Following the incident, the American Civil Liberties Union demanded that the school expunge the boy's disciplinary records and stop restricting him from talking about his family with other students. However, as of yet, no official apology had been issued to the boy or his mother by the school board.

For more information about this or other LGBTQIQ rights issues check out the American Civil Liberties Union press release: www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=14481&c=104.

For support on speaking out against intolerance and homophobia in schools, get with the good folks of the Gay Straight Alliance Network: www.gsanetwork.org.

from Spring 2004 issue of Vital Signs

Don't assume someone is mistakenly in the wrong place; if you see someone who seems out of place to you in a gendered space, ask yourself why that makes YOU uncomfortable, not them.

With a trans or gender variant friend, volunteer to go with them to the bathroom.

Stick up for folks being harassed by gender defenders. It helps us remember that other people's issues are exactly that: other people's issues!

Part of what rigid gender roles do is to make it so we don't even think about gender unless we find ourselves outside of the socially expected binary space. Think about gender.

Avoid being a member of the gender defenders. What fun is having a gender if you don't get to define it and play with it for yourself?

Bay Area Resources for Genderqueer Folks

Transgender Youth Group (for trans youth of color)
Thursdays at 8:30pm at SMAAC Youth Center
1608 Webster Street
Oakland, CA 94612
510-834-9578

Changeling (for all trans and gender variant folks 25 and under)
Wednesdays 7-9pm at LYRIC
www.lyric.org
127 Collingwood Street (2nd floor)
between 19th and 19th Streets
San Francisco, CA 94114
415-703-6150

Transmission (for trans and gender variant folks 25 and under on the FTM spectrum)
Thursdays at 8pm at Pacific Center
www.pacificcenter.org
2712 Telegraph Avenue at Derby
Berkeley, CA 94705
youth@pacificcenter.org

from Spring 2003 issue of Vital Signs

i was raised by a barbie doll
mother blonde and beautiful
always on a diet
always talking bout those 10lbs that needed shedding
i remember a fridge always stocked
with slim fast and diet coke
i used to sneak drinks of mom's slim fast
like kids steal sips of daddy's beer
to see what it is that grown ups drink
but my mom let me have my own
and i didn't think it was too bad
i felt grown up and completely female
as i sipped the chalky grainy chocolate drink
i felt smaller and empty
i figured that must be what it is to be
a woman
small
and
empty
barbie always tip toes
never full foot
leaving plenty of room for ken
to move around
take up space
dominate
but i'll stay slim and compact
so i don't offend
or get in anyone's way

from Spring 2003 issue of Vital Signs