(Hat tip to Kink on Tap)

So! There is this school district in Virginia with an innovative plan to prevent gender- and sexuality-based bullying! Are they going to encourage acceptance of all genders and sexual orientations? Provide counselling and other support for bullied kids? Provide diversity and sensitivity training for people accused of bullying?

No, of course not, that would be logical, nondiscriminatory, and (gasp) possibly effective.

Instead, they’re going to ban people wearing “cross-gender clothing.”

What pile of victim-blaming bullshit is this? Let us go back and review Decent Human Being 101: if Pat is treating Robin like shit because of Robin’s clothing, is this the fault of:

a) The clothing, for provoking Pat?

b) Robin, for asking for it via choosing that particular outfit?

c) The school, for not forbidding Robin from deviating from the path of cissexist heteronormative conformity?

d) Pat, for treating people like shit?

Ready, Virginia school district? YOU LOSE.

And, let’s be honest, this is pretty much going to affect dudes. No one would stop my female-assigned, nonbinary-in-denial, high-school self from wearing blue jeans and buttondowns. On the other hand, a person in a perfectly masculine kilt– much less an actual skirt– would probably end up being sent to the principal’s office and made to take it off.

Hell, this dress code was specifically created because some male students were dressing like girls (the article does not state whether they were actually trans women) and other students were complaining. Personally, I think that the proper reaction to that is “I’m sorry your cissexist femmephobic ass is so threatened by their fabulosity,” but what do I know, I’m just a queer. Also, because a crossdressing boy/trans girl was murdered! Because the clear problem here is the crossdressing/transness and not the FUCKING MURDERER.

Look. Bullies ARE BULLIES. If you take away the skirts, they’ll still bully the dudes with earrings. If you take away the earrings, they’ll still bully the dudes who came out of the closet. If you forbid dudes from coming out of the closet, they’ll still bully any dude who swishes. If you forbid boys from being femme in public, they’ll still bully the ones who are skinny and small. If you give everyone mandatory steroids, they’ll still fucking find someone to bully because they are bullies and that is what they do. The only thing this law achieves is taking trans and gender-non-conforming people and telling them that the school district doesn’t care about them and just wants them to shut up and go away and stop making trouble to the school.

If you would like to make your feelings known, you may contact the district here or call them at (757) 925-6750 or fax them at (757) 925-6751. In addition, you may donate to the ACLU of Virginia, which is fighting this case, here.