At a high school in London, in southwestern Ontario, a teenager’s clothing choice has initiated a controversy.
Maxwell Stewart, age 17, says his school’s decision to ban him from wearing his made-to-measure lycra body suit is not an issue of what constitutes appropriate dress but a human rights issue connected with gender identity.
Stewart says he’s androgynous- identifying neither as strictly male- or female, but rather gender-neutral, and says he feels most comfortable in the one-piece suit. But, he says he was told by officials at the London Central Secondary School that it didn’t adhere to the school’s dress code.
Karen Edgar, superintendent with the Thames Valley District School Board, said that Stewart’s gender identity has nothing to do with the ban that reflects a dress code applicable to all students. Indeed that school board is unique in Ontario in that it has a set of guidelines that mandate the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. But Edgar says, ““Any student wearing clothing that is too revealing is asked to cover up”
Stewart says , “It came up that it was the crotch bulge, like the imprint, which I don’t think is especially noticeable”.
The school says Stewart can simply wear shorts over the body suit, or get a less-revealing one.
As for how he’s dealt with this experience, Stewart says ,“As terrible as an experience as this has been, it has sort of helped me really accept who I am,”
(with files from CBC)
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