Posted on 09/26/2008 5:14:21 AM PDT by Renfield
A Hamilton teenager is fighting for his right to wear makeup at school, but school leaders say it's a distraction.
"They're gender stereo-typing. He's being sexually discriminated against. Nowhere in the rules does it say that males can't wear make-up" says Mindy Ball.
The Hamilton mother says she stands 100% behind her son, 13-year-old Matt Allsup, an eighth grader at Garfield Middle School who wears black eye makeup, lipstick and fingernail polish.
But on Monday, he was told to wash the makeup off his face, with the assistant principal telling him it was distracting and against dress code.
"When I spoke to the principal," Ball says, "She told me it was distracting because of the black makeup and I said, 'Well, I'll get him pink,' and she said no, because he's a male, he's not allowed to wear it, the public don't accept males wearing make-up."
Allsup says, "None of my classmates found it distracting or anything – and it's not extreme. I don't see why I can't wear it."
Ball and her son point out that every student is required to wear a character badge – and one of the qualities it pledges is acceptance.
"It says, 'do you value the uniqueness of all students,' and they're not letting me be unique," says Allsup. "I don't see why we have to wear them if we're not able to express who we are."
Freedom of expression is what Matt Allsup and his mom say this is all about.
They vow to fight the school's ban on his black make-up and plan to hire an attorney to take the issue to court.
"I don't think it's fair if he has to take his makeup off. I think every student in the district should have to take theirs off," says Ball.
Hamilton City School District spokesperson Joni Copas says after Allsup washed his face, there was no further discipline.
She says if makeup is too harsh – whether on a boy or a girl – the student should be asked to wipe it off.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52312.asp
I took great interest in the Larry King murder in Oxnard, CA earlier this year because I lived there most of my life. Even Newsweek did a pretty fair assessment, IMHO, that letting this kid be himself (wearing Target Stilletos) with the encouragement of an assistant principal at this school, could have led in part to his death.
Obviously this kid’s mother is too busy enabling him to help him.
I’m with you, Zeddicus.
I deal with emo kids sometimes in my class, and also have teenage boys that deal with them. My boys tell me they have serious emotional issues, all of them.
The emo stuff is just the surface you see. They all seem to have major selfishness and rebellion problems. I’ve met only one I don’t think is headed towards disaster.
She’s also not taking resposibility for her role in his confused state of mind.
It’s sad that anyone (male or female) finds that look attractive. I have no words to describe his parent.
You know, sometimes there’s a reason kids get their asses beaten in school by other kids. Not saying it’s right, just saying SOMETIMES there’s a reason...
Wow, how attractive.
Maybe when mom decides to grow up, she can help her own son do the same.
And clearly another quality it pledges is dumbass<>.
Not sure if it was an intentional reference on your part, but your comment made me think of this:
The world needs more Red Formans (That 70s Show dad).
You mean back when glam rock was cool, with the long hair and spandex and eye makeup?
I had a friend of my dad's who taught me everything I needed to know about Conservatism, God Bless him (atarting with the unions.)
Long hair and spandex was unfortunately cool but in Texas eye makeup was not.
My girlfriends kid showed up at our house with make up a few months ago. I kicked his ass out when he turned 18. Good riddance!!
I’m going to be really mean here, while supporting the kids right to go Halloween all school year. I have a 14 year old, who will tell you boys who wear emo/goth make up do so cause they’re kinda “unnattractive” in the first place. The make up doesn’t hide the fact...but it allows them to fit in somewhere. School is full of cliques and group identification, it’s the first place young adults begin to compete for status.
Unless there’s a no make-up clause for all...let the boy be.
A side note Kurtwood Smith played one of movies greatest all-time villains, Clarence Boddicker, in the first Robo-Cop.
A side note Kurtwood Smith played one of movies greatest all-time villains, Clarence Boddicker, in the first Robo-Cop.
Excuse me while I get a cane and rocking chair and bore people with stories of what life was like during the wars (Grenada and the first Gulf War). I suddenly feel old when the phrase "back when I was a kid" is used by someone in my generation.
I have to sort of agree... if a guy wants to wear eye makeup, well, it’ll probably look dumb (especially the eyeliner-under-the-eye-only thing that emo kids have going on... why? WHY? If you are going to wear eyeliner, please do so properly!) and it might get him laughed at but it’s not hurting anyone. And it’s not really ‘gender confusion’ or anything - these guys are guys, they know they’re guys, they identify as guys, but they just do something that’s typically ‘girly’ because it’s a silly-looking fashion trend.
And honestly, there’s a weird double standard going on here. I have never, ever heard anyone complain if a girl wears her brother’s hand-me-down cargo pants to school, or her boyfriend’s frat hoodie or football jersey, but let a guy wear his sister’s eyeliner or his girlfriend’s jeans and people are all over him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.