Kevin Logan was a gay student in Gary, Indiana. He often times, attended school with a purse and in women's clothing. He was never punished, nor was he sent home. When it came time to go to the prom, the school officials were aware of Kevin's desire to attend prom in a pink dress. He was denied entry into the school, despite teachers and other students recommending to the principal to just let it go and let the kid in. He is now suing the school district. Since the incident, Kevin has received a ton of support from fellow students and teachers. The interesting item of note is that a lesbian student wore a man's outfit, and was let in.

Of course, cultural heavyweights like Glenn Beck, believe that Kevin is in the wrong:



Glenn should actually read the handbook, and he should explain why Kevin was allowed to wear women's clothes in the day, but all of a sudden, couldn't at prom. He should also explain why it was that a lesbian student could do so, while Kevin couldn't.



Because he's gay, Einstein.

Notice that the Beck transcript didn't feature any evidence as to how society is harmed, it was solely junior high level jabs and obnoxious behavior by a smug, fat white guy.

Questions for debate:

1.)Should students like Kevin Logan be able to attend prom in an outfit of the opposite gender?

2.)please explain what documented harm would occur to the fellow students who have someone who is different than them, in their class.

3.)If Kevin couldn't attend prom in a dress, should religious students be forbidden to wear crosses or other garb at prom as well?

1.)Should students like Kevin Logan be able to attend prom in an outfit of the opposite gender?
From purely a personal standpoint, sure. I do think schools have a right to establish a dress code if they so desire, but it should be applied in a consistent manner. What bothers me about this case is the arbitrary manner in which the rules appear to have been applied. If there is any official ajudication of this matter, I would hope the school would be penalized on that basis.

2.)please explain what documented harm would occur to the fellow students who have someone who is different than them, in their class.
Well these days, kids are exposed to far, far, worse. Case in point, the popularity of reaction videos to "2 girls 1 cup" on YouTube. There is worse than that as well which has been swelling the Net-generation's experiences and lexicon. Homosexuality has about as much shock appeal as a Sunday morning in church these days. Besides from a scientific standpoint, its prevalence suggests a positive evolutionary trait, not a defect, possibly something inherent even to straight people whose gay potential just happens to be turned off on a genetic level.

Don't get angry. He didn't wear a pink dress because he was gay - when did you last see Ian McKellen in a pink dress? He wore a pink dress because he's a transvestite - a different human behaviour which may or may not intersect with sexual orientation (for a straight man who is openly transvestite, please Google Eddie Izzard).


1.)Should students like Kevin Logan be able to attend prom in an outfit of the opposite gender?

If the prom invitation/publicity didn't expressly specify a gender-specific dress code and have "right of admission refused" printed on it, then yes, this should be allowed. If such parameters were expressly specified (as any institution would have the right to do) then the school was within its rights, even if they normally turned a blind eye to Kevin's transvestitism; failure to enforce a rule doesn't constitute waiver or the right to enforce it.

2.)please explain what documented harm would occur to the fellow students who have someone who is different than them, in their class.

Zero. Zilch. Nada. However, to avoid such clashes in personal tastes, many schools came up with the idea of an enforcibly uniform centuries ago. If everyone has to wear the same thing all the time, nobody can bend the rules (and these days, gender clothing conventions in the West are such that a single unisex uniform could easily be designed - McDonald's seems to have managed it).

3.)If Kevin couldn't attend prom in a dress, should religious students be forbidden to wear crosses or other garb at prom as well?

You aren't comparing eggs with eggs. If a Muslim is forbidden from wearing a hijab, niqab, etc, then Christians should be forbidden from wearing conspicuous crosses, Sikhs from wearing turbans, Jews from wearing yarmulkes, etc.

I think the whole problem would have been solved by instituting a school uniform that everybody had to wear. Kevin would have been sent home for wearing a non-standard pink dress just as Fred would have been sent home for wearing a leather jacket and Jenny for wearing high heels. No possibility of confusion or discrimination, because EVERYONE is wearing clothes they wouldn't normally want to be in.

That doesn't really solve the prom problem, though. I have an idea. Scrap proms. British people of my generation didn't have them (they're all the rage now - spoilt little brats, bah humbug, etc.). I'm sure they're great fun, but school isn't meant to be FUN!

1.)Should students like Kevin Logan be able to attend prom in an outfit of the opposite gender?

Yes.


2.)please explain what documented harm would occur to the fellow students who have someone who is different than them, in their class.

I cannot explain that. I have no notion of any one being harmed by the sight of a man wearing a pink dress.


3.)If Kevin couldn't attend prom in a dress, should religious students be forbidden to wear crosses or other garb at prom as well?

People should be allowed to express themselves in any way they choose to, just so long as their choice of expression doesn't impose itself upon other people. Being obliged to see a religious symbol doesn't constitute an imposition so I can't see why it should be forbidden.

Wearing a burqa can be seen as an expression of faith, but it could also be seen as an object of oppression. At some point there has to be a distinction between what constitutes free will in these matters.

I'm hearing this logic thinking... when does it stop? What is the line? No written dress code means that people can wear whatever? Seriously. What was the line?

My idea is that someone stopped him from coming in because they still have a shred of dignity and didn't want the fruit in the dress being the center of attention at this prom. There are probably still kids that don't agree with the mess, and the fruitcake should've been respectful of this and put on a more reasonable outfit.

Who are this kid's parents? It's ok to be a homosexual I suppose, but why must you flaunt it? What homosexual rule book says that you have to wear dresses?

It's 100% obvious that this kid wore a dress specifically to attract attention. There's no other reason, and probably why he does it at school as well.

Even if the school is shown to be legally at fault, what does a civil suit prove? Really. The moral plight of America is absurd. Really. What is the line?

Could he have come in a swimsuit? What if that's how he expresses himself?
If employers in the US can still require gender specific clothing, school Proms should too. There has to be a point at which the people with a backbone say that the circus that some fringe groups cause isn't worth the bother.

Oh, come on...................! Has common sense just flown out the window? Where are this boy's parents anyway! Basically, I think there are some Americans who will literally do anything to gain media coverage!! I'm sure the school must have some type of a dress code. I would think that students can't appear in their underwear at least! If the kid wanted to get in the news so badly, he should have thought of YOUTUBE and made a video of himself in his transvestite clothing for heaven's sake. Come on parents - let's draw a line somewhere before this generation is a complete lost cause!

I would imagine something like a swimsuit would be out of line. Keep in mind that a guy-dressing lesbian student attended the prom and that this student dresses in women's clothes at the school on a regular basis.



By dressing how he likes at prom, which is normally how he dresses at school functions mind you, whose business is it of anyone else other than this "fruitcake"? How does that possibly impact anyone else? If your kid doesn't like it, he doesn't have to associate with him, it's that simple.



Why should there be a rule book that says homosexual students can't dress as they like, as long as the essentials are covered?



Really?, the fact that he dresses like that on a normal basis at school and that he is gay has nothing to do with it? Might that be a larger part of it than you acknowledge?



It proves that you can't have an arbitrary standard that is the same for some students, and not others.

Could he have come in a swimsuit? What if that's how he expresses himself?



So people different than you are "fruits" and circus-goers eh?

Love the idea of swimsuits. Our graduating high school class, some of us, wore bikinis or trunks under the robes. The idea was to take the diploma and then flash the crowd -- all in good fun, of course. There was a small-town scandal.

I don't see anything wrong in young (or old either) men wearing women's clothing and vice versa. It's just clothing. I personally would not do that because it looks to me that women's clothing, much of it, is designed by people who hate women. I'm thinking of the formal wear here, not the everyday jeans and tees that both sexes wear.

Think about that. People tend to dress unisexual for casual wear. Women have a greater selection of colors, so it seems.

Maybe I'm not creeped out over this because I worked with a guy who had the sex change operation in Trinidad. Clothes are nothing compared to going from Bob to Roberta.

The school is likely in the wrong here for not making the dress code clear and enforcing whatever they have in an unfair way.

Like it or not, homosexuality is a part of humanity. It's just one of the many things that should make one wonder about intelligent design. Biology is not so simple as some of us would like to believe.

Regarding religious symbols, let them all have equal showing. The Muslim dress code does present a problem in certain situations, and that's the only exception I can think of right now. I suppose oversized bling would also be problematic.

1.)Should students like Kevin Logan be able to attend prom in an outfit of the opposite gender?

No, he shouldn't - it opens up too many other possibilities. Stick to the formal wear traditionally designed for your own gender.

2.)please explain what documented harm would occur to the fellow students who have someone who is different than them, in their class.

Ohhh nooooo, that "documented" word again! I believe somewhere in California a young man dressed in just the same way caused (not just a correlation) 32.3% of the heterosexual males to spontaneously lose control of their bowels thereby creating quite an unsanitary situation in the gym floor (at least according to the AP)! Sorry Neb, the wording of your question just struck my funny bone.

On a more serious note, why not do away with the dress code then? What harm could come from having someone who is different in their class? I think everyone should be allowed to wear thong bikinis!

3.)If Kevin couldn't attend prom in a dress, should religious students be forbidden to wear crosses or other garb at prom as well?[/quote]

Are you equating religious expression with sexual orientation? I believe in an earlier post you did suggest that the boy's perference for pink dresses had something to do with his sexual orientation?! When did gay men start showing a penchant for pink dresses? I believe you're confusing an accepted mode of expression (i.e., religious wear) with someone seeking reaction for reaction's sake.

1) Should students like Kevin Logan be able to attend prom in an outfit of the opposite gender?

If it didn't bother school officials or fellow students enough to call him on it during class every day, what's the big deal?

2) Please explain what documented harm would occur to the fellow students who have someone who is different than them, in their class.

It depends on how different that someone in question is. If he is wearing a Nazi insignia on his sleeve or a hangman's noose around his neck, there could be trouble. But gender-bending clothing?

I personally like kilts on guys...

3) If Kevin couldn't attend prom in a dress, should religious students be forbidden to wear crosses or other garb at prom as well?

You know, that's kind of an interesting question, considering that back in the Dark Ages when I went to high school, the Christians had an alternative gathering--the "Christian Youth Banquet"--so that kids wouldn't be tempted to be tainted by the whole rock and roll, suggestive clothing, drinking/drugging on the sly and peer pressure thing. I had not been invited to the Christian thing, so I agreed to go to the Senior Prom with a date. We happened to attend the same high-end restaurant where the Christian group was holding its celebration. The youth group leader even went so far as to record out entrance with his movie camera before he realized that we were not part of their gathering but were passing through that banquet room. It was a little embarrassing.

Whatever...

Why is everybody so uptight about a guy wearing a dress, for heaven's sake? If it's offensive, don't go with him! Ignore him. People who dress for attention aren't encouraged if they don't get the attention they crave.

As far as the religious stuff goes, if someone wanted to wear a burqa or a nun's habit or a flapper's outfit, who cares? As long as the appropriate body parts are covered, no one should care.

And is wearing a cross a reliable indicator that a person is Christian anymore?

If there are certain expectations of dress that students and faculty need to meet, it should be spelled out before the function.

And as far as our schizoid approach to gender dressing, weren't current parents/grandparents and faculty members the same people who laughed their butts off at what Corporal Klinger wore on the comedy series M*A*S*H*?

As far as the lawsuit idea goes, though, there can only be so much "injury" incurred when someone is denied the right to attend the prom in the outfit he wants. Damage of some sort has to be proven in civil suits.

1.)Should students like Kevin Logan be able to attend prom in an outfit of the opposite gender?
It depends on the school dress policy (no pun intended). Are boys allowed to wear dresses? Secondly, what's the boy's point? Did S/he have a date? What was the theme of the prom?

2.)please explain what documented harm would occur to the fellow students who have someone who is different than them, in their class.
What is documented harm? Did you really think this question through?