Aimee Walker
A gay student has gone viral for delivering a powerful speech after being suspended for wearing nail polish.
Trevor Wilkinson, from Clyde High School in Texas, was informed that he’d breached the school’s dress code on November 30, reports KTXS.
But the student, who describes himself as a ‘gay male and proud,’ is now fighting back against his suspension and the district policy by sharing his thoughts with the school board.
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“This isn’t about me anymore,” he stressed. “It’s about a discriminatory, sexist policy that needs to be changed. Why is it against the dress code for a man to be comfortable with his masculinity and defy the gender norms society has imposed on us? Why is it harmful for me to wear nail polish? If it’s not harmful for girls to wear it, why is it harmful for males?”
Concluding his speech, the student said: “We’re all supposed to be equal. Not having our freedom of expression suppressed, not having our voices not heard because grown-ups are taking three steps back instead of forward.”
Despite Trevor’s emotional speech, the school’s superintendent, Kenny Berry, says he doesn’t plan on changing the dress school policy anytime soon.
In a statement, he said: “As set out in Board policy, Clyde CISD (Clyde Independent School District) believes students should attend school in a safe and supportive environment that promotes equality for all, and the District takes all appropriate measures to ensure its actions align with that policy.
“While the District expects students to abide by established rules of conduct, the District is also always open to reconsidering policies or rules that do not reflect the District’s intentions.
“To that end, the District will conduct a thorough review of its dress code when it performs its annual review of the Student Handbook and, until that time, the District will assure that no student is treated in a discriminatory or inequitable manner.
“Under federal and state law, the District cannot publicly comment on or discuss specific student matters.
“However, be assured that the District appreciates the feedback and input that has been recently received from members of the community.”
As Trevor’s speech hasn’t resulted in any change so far, a petition has now been launched for the school policy to be updated. So far, it’s amassed over 370,000 signatures.
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