Nathan said staff told him this week that the newspaper editorial was a compromise—but he didn’t know that before, he said.

He turned to YouTube to express his feelings, as he’s done in the past. But he’s heard a lot more about this video than most of the others, he said.

“I’ve been making YouTube videos for a really long time. This is just, like, another one of my videos. It’s just documenting my life and this is one that kind of took off more than I expected,” he said.

Nathan and his father, Scott Ostrum, appreciate the reception he’s had at school during his transition to male, saying it has been more supportive and positive than they anticipated. And they said they have some sympathy for the principal’s position.

But for them, this is one more hazy area of transgender students’ rights, creating opportunities for limitations and emphasis on difference.

“I can certainly understand why [the principal] doesn’t want the controversy,” said Scott Ostrum, who graduated from Stafford himself and had two other children go through the school. “It’s a hard job, being principal. You hear every parent’s heartache every day."