Many schools have particular rules for the dress code and attire of their students when they are attending school in-person. For the most part, the rules are clear and straight-forward, like not having shirts with profanity on them or not wearing things that show “too much skin.”
There are, however, some schools that have different rules and regulations for students based on their gender.
As it turns out, some schools allow certain attire and accessories for one gender, but not the other. For example, in one West Texas school, girls are allowed to wear nail polish, while boys cannot.
Clyde High School, located in Texas, apparently mentions in their dress code that while girls can wear nail polish, boys cannot.
Additionally, the dress code mentions that boys are not allowed to wear makeup or come to school wearing earrings.
Recently, one Texas high school student, Trevor Wilkinson, was suspended from school after he showed up to class wearing nail polish.
The 17-year-old high school student showed up to school wearing black nail polish with colorful flames on each nail. He was then sent down to the principal’s office and later suspended from school for violating the dress code.
The handbook also states that students who “violate” the dress code are given an opportunity to correct it.
However, if they do not, “The student may be assigned to in-school suspension for the remainder of the day, until the problem is corrected, or until a parent or designee brings an acceptable change of clothing to the school.”
Many people were apologetic that Trevor has to go through this in schools, stating that expression of children is important.
One mom wrote to Trevor on Twitter that her son wears nail polish all the time, despite being heterosexual. She also said his girlfriend does his nails for him.
Trevor ended up on a creating a Change.org petition in response to the situation.
Trevor said he will stay in in-school suspension until he “takes off the nail polish,” which, he says, he refuses to do as the dress code is gender discriminatory.
The petition has received more than 75,000 signatures.
Trevor was shocked at how much support he received from people online, writing them a lengthy thank you post on Instagram.
“Thank you everyone for your support. I cannot express that enough and I could not have gotten this far without you guys! I know a lot of you have called and emailed my school board – flooding their voicemails and inboxes.
Thank you for standing alongside me to create change so that students like me can express ourselves in authentic ways in school and focus on our studies rather.
As well as ending the gender norms that society has oppressed on us. Please continue to call and email but for those of you who want to challenge dangerous gender stereotypes you can join me in painting your nails and rocking them all over Texas and the country,” he wrote.
Trevor found the situation “ridiculous” and found himself in in-school suspension because of it.
He later tweeted about the incident online, gaining thousands of viewers and reactions from people on social media.
So far, the school board has responded by saying they will do a “thoughtful review” of their current policies.
“That review process results in the development of a final dress code that is consistently implemented and enforced during the next school year.
Parents and students are provided a copy of the dress code prior to the start of each new school year,” they told The Today Show
h/t NBC News
