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.
I like turtles.
Holy mackerel. What they should be doing is getting this poor boy some help. Something is terribly wrong.
What the hell is WRONG with these parents defending and facilitating this Emo dysfunction in their own kids? Does this kid have a father? I’m guessing no.
Looks like he’s a trenchcoat and a shotgun short of Columbine.
My daughter goes to a school where makeup is not allowed.
Children wearing makeup is not a civil right.
(I have to pay a heavy price in tuition to send her to a private school with standards and discipline and morning prayer- things we used to have in “public” education)
I’m guessing no father and a mother who is anti-male. I wonder, was this boy dressed as a girl when he was younger?
1. This boy was raised by daycare, and
2. There's no father in his life.
Talk about a cry for attention.
That is not fashion. It’s a cry for help.
No, Emo is NOT just a harmless teenage fashion statement. This the mistake parents make in just allowing it because they’re too busy to be bothered paying attention to what is really going on with their kids. It’s incredibly self-destructive and harmful.
Trust me, I’ve got some first-hand experience dealing with this crap.
It’s a Gothic phase, leave him be, he’ll grow out of it.
Someone call Columbo! It's a mystery why this kid isn't being taken seriously.
He got “help”; that’s the problem.
Dear "Hamilton mom",
I would like to personally congratulate you on the choices you have made as a mother. Not only have you raised at least two males who believe that wearing makeup is appropriate, you are also teaching them that authorities have no authority over them.
Good job, mom. By your actions, you have condemned both of these boys to a life of mediocrity in which they will choose to fight the cultural norms rather than try to make changes from within the system. How many employers will want to hire your sons, mom? How many will want to place them in responsible positions?
You have taught them that their personal selfishness (and gender confusion) is far more important than growing up to become responsible men!!
Aw HELL NO!
I’m with you on this.
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