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Support Ceara Sturgis: Yearbooks Must Include Everyone It was just last month that we settled our case against the Itawamba County School District in Mississippi for discriminating against Constance McMillen. As you'll recall, the school cancelled prom rather than let Constance wear a tuxedo and take her girlfriend as her date. We find ourselves with a bit of déjà vu. Yesterday, the ACLU LGBT Project and the ACLU of Mississippi filed a lawsuit against another Mississippi high school, Wesson Attendance Center, for excluding Ceara Sturgis’ name and senior portrait from the yearbook rather than publish a photo of her in a tuxedo. Our lawsuit charges that Ceara was unfairly discriminated against based on her sex and unfair gender stereotypes. As you might recall, in some high school yearbook portraits, boys wear tuxedos, and girls wear "the drape," a piece of fabric draped across the chest to look like dress. Ceara, who's worn boys' clothes all her life, tried posing with the drape, but felt extremely uncomfortable and had her mother request that she wear the tuxedo instead. The yearbook photographer permitted Ceara to wear a tux. But after the portrait was taken, the principal told Ceara that he would not allow the photo to be published. Despite efforts to resolve the issue by Ceara’s mother and the ACLU, Ceara received her yearbook without her portrait, or even her name, included in the senior class portrait section. This is no way to treat an honor student who's attended Wesson since kindergarten. Our lawsuit charges Ceara’s rights were violated under Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex and sex stereotypes, and the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection. More than 400,000 people showed their support for Constance as she challenged her school's discriminatory policy. Now show Ceara your support by joining her Facebook page. And if you haven't already, take action by urging your members of Congress to pass the Student Nondiscrimination Act.
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12 Responses to "Support Ceara Sturgis: Yearbooks Must Include Everyone" |
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Aug 18th, 2010 at 3:44pm
That's disgusting.
Aug 18th, 2010 at 3:44pm
That's disgusting.
Aug 19th, 2010 at 4:08pm
It is time that alternate gender expressions be, at the very least, tolerated. Not only lesbian and gay but transgenders as well.
Aug 24th, 2010 at 11:41am
Ceara sounds like a pain in the ass...
Aug 25th, 2010 at 2:08pm
Ridiculous - she was wearing a tuxedo. Where is the harm in wearing a tuxedo? I'm hoping this verdict causes this principal to get his ass handed to him.
Aug 30th, 2010 at 8:16pm
She looks hot!
Sep 7th, 2010 at 9:46pm
everyone deserves to be able to be themselves..is it us that make the clothes or do the clothes make us?
Sep 8th, 2010 at 4:23pm
LOL THE SCHOOL HAD THEIR ASSES HANDED TO THEM GO US COURTS. RESPECT DIVERSITY PEOPLE
Sep 8th, 2010 at 6:01pm
If the school doesn't want to publicize lesbians graduated from that highschool, then it should have the rite NOT TOO!!!!
Sep 8th, 2010 at 6:03pm
If that school doesn't want to publicize that a lesbain graduated, then they should have the rite NOT TO!!
Sep 18th, 2010 at 9:55pm
I imagine based on your spelling and sentence structure, Anonymous at 7:01 and 7:03, you failed to graduate from high school, sad to say.
Oct 4th, 2010 at 12:33am
she does not look like a girl at all