When people think of gays & transsexuals in school, they think of harassment, bullying and violence.  ...And those are certainly major problems.  HOWEVER for transgenders the big issue is TRANSITIONING.

           In other words, How does the school handle the various issues involved with having a transsexual girl attend school as a girl? 

TWO PATHS
When a transsexual meets a school, there are two possible situations:  

SITUATION #1:  A NEW KID ON THE BLOCK   A 6-year old transsexual is ready to start kindergarten.  Naturally the child expects to be attending in their innate Right-Gender role.  But parents & other adults are hesitant...  Maybe a Wrong-Gender role would be more appropriate?

SITUATION #2:  SWITCHING IN MIDSTREAM    An 8th grader has been attending school for years in a Wrong-Gender role.  That Wrong-Gender is everywhere:  school records, relationships, reputation, and so on....  But puberty is looming and the child can't live the lie a moment longer.   Alas,  changing gender expression is considered by all to be a huge crisis--a threat to the Natural Order of the Universe.  Can transitioning be done so that life as we know it can still continue?

Given the dire consequences of Situation #2, one might think that Situation #1 would be a no-brainer:  Go for the Right-Gender Role!

SCHOOL POLICIES
It's rare for schools to have an established policy regarding how student transitioning will be handled.  ...Even though a badly handled transition is a catastrophe for the youth because of the harassment and violence it triggers.  Over half of badly-transitioned youth become statistics--dropouts, homeless, suicides, or hate-crime victims. 

It's in society's best interest to establish school policies for transitioning.

SAVE THE TEACHERS & PRINCIPALS!    What a school wants is a secure neutral atmosphere that promotes learning.   No distractions for the classrooms.  A student body focused on personality development & education, not inter-group conflict. 

A badly handled transition is national news.  As in:  reporters, photographers, TV camera crews, picketing special interest groups, angry parents, lawyers and law suits.    --Definitely NOT a secure neutral school culture!   Afterward teachers spend their time explaining. and administrators spend their time defending.


WHAT POLICIES?       What issues & concerns must a transgender school policy handle?

ISSUE #1:  SCHOOL CULTURE    What are the school's core values, priorities & interests?  The school's culture is reflected in the words used in the classroom and in casual conversation, the jokes & anecdotes that circulate,  how rules are enforced.

Reading, writing & arithmetic? OR Developing the student's independent thought, reasoning & debate skills? OR Instilling a set of morals & self-discipline to follow the right lifestyle?

Education about social & religious issues & ideals? OR Enforcement of a specific social & religious orthodoxy?

Expression of individual core identity? OR Establishment of appropriate stereotypes?

An icon of the parent's social status?  OR  A student's door to opportunity?  OR  A day-care center?

ISSUE #2:  OUTING vs PRIVACY   Whom should we tell?    People have a natural impulse toward Full Disclosure, particularly regarding matters that might threaten the Natural Order of the Universe.

Except, How will the disclosed information be used?  Will disclosure foster acceptance & affirmation?  ...Or will it trigger harassment and rejection?   Does disclosure unleash the wrath & judgement of god?

PRIVACY:   A transsexual in a Right-Gender role looks and behaves just like the other children--because they are just like the other children.  If allowed, they'd grow up free of guilt, paranoia and low self-esteem.   The truth is, an undisclosed transsexual is NOT a threat to anyone.

MEDICAL PRIVACY:  Both the average girl and a transgender girl have a female gender, gender identity and gender expression.  The only difference between them  is biology--something that's hidden in their underwear.  Transsexuality isn't a matter of fraud & secrecy;  it's a medical condition involving a child's private parts. Outing a transsexual means publicizing what their genitals look like:  

“That little girl has a penis.”

"That little girl has a mental disease called a paraphilia, which means that her penis was supposed to make her into a boy, but it didn't, so it turned her into a deviant sex criminal instead...."

Genitals are not appropriate material for public debate.  Outing is always harmful and humiliating for the child.   Information about anyone’s anatomy or medical treatment is protected by federal law.  Once genital information has been disclosed, privacy can’t be restored.

MISC. ISSUES:

SEX EDUCATION  There certainly is a lot of misinformation about gender, transsexuality, and sexual orientation.  Education definitely  plays a key role in fighting bigotry and hatred.  They must be subjects for sex education in a free society.  ...But not with a name attached:  teach transsexuality, not  John's a transsexual.

If inadvertent disclosure does take place, education allows others to say:  Oh look, John must be one of those people we learned about in school....

RECORDS  Classroom lists, standardized tests, report cards, integrated software…  School records have always been only semi-private.  School records MUST accurately reflect each student’s name, gender identity and gender expression.  “Former” wrong-gender names on records often result in Outing.

The problem is most easily resolved by parents obtaining timely legal name changes on all insurance and other documents.  If a child transitions prior to starting first grade, then there aren’t any “former” wrong-gender names to worry about.

RESTROOMS  School restrooms must have secure stalls to protect the privacy of ALL students.  Intersexuals and Transgenders should use standard restrooms appropriate to their gender (personality), gender identity, and gender expression.

Complaints about restroom use is part of hostile Outing of a transsexual.  The courts have ruled that transsexuals have a fundamental human right of access to standard gender-appropriate public facilities.  Anyone protesting that right can themselves choose to use alternative facilities.

LOCKER ROOMS  Disrobing in the view of other students can be a source of embarrassment for ANY person.  In the case of intersexuals and transsexuals, disrobing results in Outing and subsequent harassment.  All institutions must have alternatives that preserve the privacy and dignity of the individual, regardless of age, biology, or medical history of the person.

ATHLETICS  Don’t hormones give transsexual and intersexual athletes an unfair advantage?   For almost 70 years international athletics committees (such as the Olympics Committee) have struggled over the question.  They tried various tests and switched between policies.  Every test and policy denied participation to honest worthy competitors, while still being subject to intentional fraud.

The key issue is androgen exposure—how much and how long?   Androgens—whether by injection or through puberty—result in muscular & skeletal strength & bulk that can injure anyone without similar androgen exposure.  Currently two years of androgen exposure is the accepted cut-off: 

Anyone WITH two years of androgen exposure from any source should not compete athletically against anyone WITHOUT the exposure.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES  Can transsexuals compete for homecoming queen?  Can two girls attend prom as a couple?  What if one of them is transsexual? 

The simplest solution is a principle of full equality & equal opportunity for all.  Participation in gender-separated activities (Girl's Choir or housing for a marching band road trip) should be based on gender expression, not anatomic details.  Organizers must be sensitive to preserve the privacy and dignity  of every participant.

VIOLENCE  
Violence is not acceptable in any civilized society.  Unfortunately schools tend to be the proving ground of a culture's dedication to peace and self-control.  Abuse of power stems from two basic urges:  society's need for stereotype enforcement and an individual's urge to control others.  Effective anti-violence policies must focus on elimination of those roots.  A statement like, "We don't like bullying and harassment" is a useless window-dressing.

BULLYING   What most people think of when school violence is mentioned.   Everyone endured the attentions of the bullies who happened to be in their grade in their school at that certain time.

Bullies are out for themselves.  They have no moral principles to enforce.  They want to control others, the more the better, because of the fulfillment they feel when others tremble before them.   It's all about power.  Bullies select targets based on availability:  whoever is on hand at the time;  whoever is the most vulnerable. for any reason.   There's nothing the target can do to stop the attacks, except hire a bodyguard.

An effective anti-bullying policy provides that bodyguard in the form of teachers, school staff, and the other students.  In other words,  schools must foster  a school culture that doesn't value power, authority, control, etc;  but instead offers support for the vulnerable.

HARASSMENT   Harassment is society's way of maintaining stereotypes.  Mild forms might involve verbal cautions from authority figures:  "Johnny, boys don't cry."  More severe forms involve jokes, slang, slurs and name-calling.  Extreme forms of harassment involve threats or physical assault to enforce conformity and punish deviance. 

Creating a hostile environment is commonly used to describe the process of establishing an orthodoxy (for example, "people in pants must enjoy sports" or "girls are sex objects"), and then making life unpleasant for anyone who doesn't play their assigned role. 

An effective anti-harassment policy begins with stereotypes.  Does the school culture value the richness of diversity?  Or does it prize  a small number of  acceptable lifestyles or socioeconomic groups?  What ARE the prevailing stereotypes and how are they enforced?  It's impossible to eliminate all stereotypes, but it's possible to channel the stereotypes toward good behavior vs bad behavior, rather than superficial traits like skin color, economic status, gender group, etc.

TARGET DESIGNATION  The community at large determines who will be the victims of bullying and harassment.  The community creates the stereotypes, decides how rigidly to enforce them, and makes the non-conformers vulnerable. 

In the case of transgenders, violence is invited by...

1.  FORCED WRONG-GENDER ROLES  The hope is to demand that a transsexual adopt a wrong-gender role, then enforce compliance  through harassment.  Maybe if the harassment is intense enough, the transsexual will reform as an act of self-preservation.

Unfortunately, children are natural stereotype-enforcement experts.  They detect the transsexual's wrong-gender role and harass to discourage it ("Johnny's a sissy!")  The transsexual is trapped in the middle.

2.  OUTING   Without outing, no one would know there were any transsexuals in the school.  Any policy to promote harassment begins with outing:  an announcement that the student doesn't conform to approved standards;  assurance to the bullies that the student is outside the protection of the school authorities.

3.  SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS  Other students know there’s something wrong if a student can’t enter a restroom or goes to the library instead of gym class. 

4.  VICTIM TRAINING   Non-affirming families train transsexuals to be victims.  The transsexuals expect to be attacked;  they know that no place is secure;  they're aware the attack is sponsored by those in authority.