Happy Thanksgiving, Renee (And All My Canadian Trans Peeps and Readers)

One of the wonderful things about the Internet is that no wonder where you live, from the comfort of your home you can take an informational journey around the world.

I've been blessed to have a lot of readers from Canada who peruse this blog. It's a fact I'm very proud of since I do have a broad international view of the transgender rights struggle.

Our Canadian cousins celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. So on the occasion of my Canadian cousins getting their grub on today and giving thanks for the blessings in their lives, I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to my Canadian readers for spending your valuable web surfing time reading TransGriot.

I wanted to say a special thanks on this day to a person who has become a close friend and homegirl in Renee and her family. You have been a blessing in my life this year, and I give thanks to the Creator on this day for you being in mine.

Unfortunately one of the things at your dinner table won't be me or the cornbread recipe I owe you.

I also thank you for being a staunch ally and being in mine and the rest of the trans community's corner.

I also give thanks to peeps like Mercedes Allen, Dr. Miqqi Alicia Gilbert, Michelle Dumaresq, Linus, Micheline Montreuil, Victoria Stuart, Veronique, Elizabeth Tyler and countless other Canadian trans peeps and their allies. You are all doing your parts to fight for the rights of transpeople who reside inside the Great White North.

By doing the education, breaking barriers in Canadian society, making history and fighting the Forces of Intolerance, you drive home the simple points that Canada is your home and you are human beings deserving of all it has to offer.

So Happy Thanksgiving to all of you peeps north of the border.

Try not to eat too much turkey, eh?

Blogtalkradio Show Tonight-'Yes, There Is A Rape Culture'

It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and Renee will be taking time from getting her grub on to do our Blogtalkradio podcast tonight at 8 PM EDT.

The topic is 'Yes, There Is A Rape Culture' and we will have Cara from the Curvature and Feministe and Melissa of Shakesville.

If you want to join in the conversation, here's the link to our show page.

Our Womanist Musings show call in number (347) 326-9452

We're Going To South Africa!

At least the US mens soccer team is.

They traveled to San Pedro Sula and beat Honduras 3-2 last night in a critical qualification match from the North and Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region to clinch a spot in next year's FIFA World Cup which will be held in South Africa.

Team USA had to work for it. After a scoreless first half, in the 47th minute the Hondurans jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the first of two goals by Julio Cesar De Leon. He scored again in the 78th minute to narrow the Catrachos deficit to 3-2.

Team USA erased the deficit by scoring 3 consecutive goals to take a 3-1 lead in the match. In the 55th minute Conor Casey scored the first of his two goals and added his second one in the 66th minute Team USA captain Landon Donovan added another in the 71st minute.

Honduras kept coming at them. They were 8-0 at home in qualifying and had been undefeated in 17 games at San Pedro Sula since June 2003.

They had a bicycle kick by Mauricio Sabillon in the 82nd minute that would have tied the match sail over the crossbar. Another golden opportunity in the 87th minute to tie the game on a Carlos Pavon penalty kick, but it sailed over the crossbar.

“We’re very proud,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. “We understand the responsibility we have every time we step on the field for our fans, for our country.”

This is the sixth straight time the USA Mens team has qualified for the World Cup, but unlike our women, have no championships to show for it. They are eager for the opportunity to atone for the disappointing 2006 World Cup showing in Germany and show the world that our men can play quality football.

Esat Cleveland, OH Mayor Brewer Admits Photos Are His

Here's an update about East Cleveland, OH Mayor Eric Brewer. Last month he had photos allegedly of him crossdressed mysteriously appear and broadcast on local television stations several days before the primary election for mayor in that predominately African-American suburb of Cleveland.

Brewer lost that primary election by a 2-1 margin to his challenger Gary Norton, Jr.

Brewer was angry that Cleveland's NBC affiliate, WKYC Channel 3, broadcast the racy photos in a segment titled Picture Controversy just days before the primary election. He also alleges that Norton and the East Cleveland Police Department are responsible for the leaked photographs.

Of course both Norton, currently the East Cleveland City Council president and the ECPD have denied any involvement in leaking the photos.

Norton however did let it slip in a previous interview he was aware of the photos.

In the wake of that landslide loss, questions swirled around the bachelor mayor as to whether those pictures of him dressed in sexy lingerie and femme attire were actually his, but the mayor did so on a regular basis.

Well, we can drop the 'alleged' label off the pictures.

In a recent interview he granted to Inside Edition and conducted by reporter Les Trent, Brewer admitted the leaked photos are his and he posed for the pictures for a girlfriend.

While Brewer denies that he fits the definition of a cross dresser, he didn't reveal if he wears feminine clothing on a regular basis.

Not our business if the mayor does or doesn't, but thanks to a politrick, the whole planet is aware of at least one occasion that he did.

Trans Faith Links

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. -- Genesis 1:27

I talked about faith in a recent post. If you're wanting to get your praise on and be part of a welcoming and inclusive faith community, here are some links to find them.


TransChristians


DignityUSA- GLBT Catholic Group


More Light Presbyterians


TransEpiscopal


TransTorah- Transgender Jewish site


Whosoever- Online Magazine for GLBT Christians


Metropolitan Community Churches


As I discover more interesting links I'll post them here.

Obama HRC Speech

President Obama became the second president to speak to the Washington DC HRC dinner tonight, and here's the speech.








The sniping has already started amongst white gays and lesbians.

I'll give it a day before I comment on it.

Brittney Griner Named Preseason Big 12 Freshman Of The Year

Brittney Griner's birthday doesn't arrive until October 18, but she's already received an early birthday gift courtesy of the Big 12 women's basketball coaches.

The 6-8 center was voted the preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

If you need some reminders as to why she received that honor or was the most sought after female basketball player in the nation last spring, check out this link to a previous post chronicling Griner dunking on her competition enroute to leading Aldine Nimitz to the Texas Class 5A state finals.

Baylor's opening game November 7 and probably every other home game at the Ferrell Center this season is sold out in anticipation of seeing a player many people believe will take women's college basketball and eventually the WNBA to another evolutionary rim-rocking level.

It definitely will be fun this season watching to see if she can.

Archie Gets Married To Betty!

I've been following the Archie Gets Married storyline and all the developments so far that have transpired. I own Archie 601 and 602 which show the proposal and the subsequent wedding.

At the end of Archie 601, Veronica drops the news on Archie after a long day at Lodge Enterprises that she's pregnant.

In Archie 602 we discover that Archie and Veronica become parents of fraternal twins. This issue focuses on the travails of parenthood on the couple and all of the ancillary issues it brings.

I'll have to leave y'all hanging in terms of what names Archie and Veronica chose for the twins and who they named as the godparents.

But as many of us noted, Archie went down one fork of Memory Lane. We know how his life is transpiring by choosing to marry Veronica.

While it was an upgrade in social status for Archie, it comes at a cost. He's struggling to handle a job he feels he's over his head in, but doesn't want to disappoint his father in law or his wife.

But how would it have transpired if he had proposed and married Betty, and would he be happier in doing so?

Well, to the delight of Betty fans, we're about to find out.

The script is going to get flipped and show Archie proposing marriage to Betty in front of a stunned Veronica.

The fans of the Archie comics (and the TransGriot) made it overwhelmingly clear across the Net that Betty was the girl they wanted to see Archie get married to.

Knowing Archie's history of not being able to make up his mind between the two, and that there were three comic books left in the series, it was inevitable they were going to give us fans what we wanted to see and show the other side of this eternal love triangle.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it, When one online poll on the Archie website I saw noted that 80% of the respondents wanted Betty and Archie to get married, it was inevitable this was going to happen.

Beginning with Archie 603, we'll see the flip side of the eternal love triangle.

Archie takes another walk down Memory Lane and this time takes the other fork in the road. That sets up the rest of the story arc that will unfold over Archie issues 604, 605 and 606.

We'll get to see Archie's proposal to Betty, their subsequent marriage and life with her.

We'll also get to see if Veronica handles it with the class that Betty handled it when the pump was on the other foot.

I'm betting that Veronica's spoiled butt doesn't, but then again she may shock us.

But we'll see.

Hmm, this storyline is getting juicier by the minute. Looking forward to picking the rest of these issues up and seeing how this plays out.

2000 Posts!

You are looking at another TransGriot milestone.

This post is the 2000th one I have composed for this blog since I started it on January 1, 2006.

Wow, guess I had a lot to say about trans issues and many others from an African flavored perspective, huh?

It's awe inspiring to note that I get people all over the planet who take the time out of their busy days to surf over here to TransGriot and read what I have to say about trans and other issues in the world surrounding me.

I have been blessed with new friends since the start of this blog. I've seen my writing quoted by people, linked to by influential newspapers and even seen some of the catchphrases I came up like conservafool starting to appear elsewhere in the blogosphere and beyond.

I'm even starting to get awards for it.

But as I shoot for post 2500 and beyond, the basic mission of TransGriot hasn't changed.

That mission, dear readers, is to educate, inform and entertain you at the same time.

Thank you TransGriot readers for your support and coming along for the ride.

Bad Move-Somali Pirates Attack French Naval Ship

Now that monsoon season is over, the attacks of Somali pirates on vessels traversing the busy shipping lanes off the Horn of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Somali coast has resumed.

Wednesday night two Somali pirate skiffs tried to roll up on an 18,000 ton ship cruising 250 miles off the Somali coast that they thought was a freighter.

After beginning their attack run by firing Kalashnikov rifles at the 525 foot ship in question, they noticed too late that the ship they were attempting to bumrush was a French naval vessel, the La Somme.

The La Somme just happens to be the French naval command vessel for the multinational naval task force working to suppress the pirate attacks.

The ship chased the pirates for an hour after they realized their mistake, turned and tried to run back to the Somali coast. The La Somme eventually caught one of the skiffs and arrested five buccaneers.

Score one for the multi-national anti-piracy task force this time.

But they still have a difficult job in trying to patrol two million square miles of ocean with just two dozen ships and a single patrol aircraft.

Advantage pirates. But not if they can't tell the difference between cargo ships and armed naval vessels.

Why There Were No WNBA Posts On TransGriot This Season

The 2009 WNBA Finals concluded Friday night with the Phoenix Mercury beating the Indiana Fever 94-86 in the decisive Game 5 to take their second WNBA championship in three years.

Congratulations Phoenix and bah humbug.

As you longtime TransGriot readers know I am a huge sports fan. I believe in supporting women's sports at all levels including the professional ranks. I also put my money where my big mouth is.

The WNBA for a decade was one of my passions. I was a Houston Comets season ticket holder from 1999-2001 and a enthusiastic fan of the team.

I was in a sold out Compaq Center to watch the 1997, 1999 and 2000 seasons end in championship glory for the hometown girls. I flew to LA and NY to watch Comet road games and talk trash to the Sparks and Liberty fans in the Forum and Madison Square Garden. After I moved to Da Ville I drove 1.5 hours to Indianapolis four times to watch the Comets play the Indiana Fever.

But I painfully watched from afar the piss poor way the WNBA leadership allowed my hometown team and the league's flagship franchise die last winter without giving local investors a chance to put an ownership group together to save it.

It angered me to the point where I couldn't even bring myself to watch a WNBA game on TV this summer, much less write about the league on this blog.

Loyal Comets fans got screwed in that deal. Allowing the Comets to fold was akin to the NBA leadership letting the Boston Celtics die. The Comets in conjunction with the Rockets have a display dedicated to their combined six years of NBA/WNBA titles from 1994-2000 in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

For the first time since the WNBA started in 1997, we didn't have the Comets around. For those of us in the Sea of Red whose Houston summers revolved around our beloved team, memories of the dynasty and the friendships we made with our fellow season ticket holders, it was a long, hot and joyless one.

Am I angry about the way it was handled? You betcha.

So when will I start watching, attending or much less commenting on WNBA games again? When a Houston franchise returns to the league.

And no, rooting for the San Antonio Silver Stars isn't going to cut it.

Saturday Sellout-Harry Jackson

Ralph Reed and his friends started the Samaritan Project back in the 90's to recruit Black ministers for the Forces of Faith based Intolerance.

Meet one of their superstars, Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr.

He's the senior pastor at the sprawling Hope Christian Church in Lanham, MD and runs the Hi Impact Leadership Coalition, a front organization for Lou Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition.

He claims he's a 'registered Democrat', but his actions belie that. He's also admitted that’s basically a ploy to give him credibility when attacking President Obama or pushing Republicans for public office.

"I voted for President Bush, but here in Maryland—a primarily Democratic state—in order to vote in the primaries that affect the election, you need to be a Democrat. That’s where I started. Over time, however, I’ve found that I have very little in common with the Democratic Party in terms of national moral values issues. Still, being able to say I’m a registered Democrat disarms many of the people who want to write me off as an “Oreo” or an “Uncle Tom."

No it doesn't, Harry. You're an Oreo-chomping Uncle Tom.

So when the Christobigots need an Oreo-cookie chomping sellout to parrot their talking points and pet issues to a predominately African-American audience, or be the point negro for an anti-gay referendum, you can count on Bigot Harry Jackson being their man.

Check out his virtuoso performance at the recent Values Voters Summit.



He has a long history of Uncle Thomasin for the Religious Reich and a long paper trail as People For The American Way has documented.

He was the Reicher tool in the Prop 8 battle and other anti-gay referendums. He is also taking the lead role in fighting Washington DC's attempts to first recognize and now legalize marriage equality.

He has his hate on for President Obama and liberal-progressive Black leadership in general. He proudly boasts to predominately white evangelical audiences that I'm the “other Jackson.”

Harry, I have more respect for that 'other Jackson' than I ever will for you.

Sharon Franklin Brown's Story

Thanks to the archived pages of JET magazine, we'll get to take another trip on the way back machine and check out a little trans history with soul.

This time we're going to travel back to November 1995 and the North Carolina campus of Fayetteville State University. We're going to tell the story of transwoman Sharon Franklin Brown's brush with job discrimination.

Sharon grew up in a southern African-American community, feeling the usual angst about her gender issues and sensing her family's shame about them. After telling her parents she was going to make the physical changes to complete her transition, they disowned her for 18 years.

Fast forward to the Fayetteville State campus. The then 29 year old Sharon had been transitioning for seven years at the time was on hormones and working toward getting SRS.

She was attempting to switch from a part time position as a resident adviser in a women's dorm on this HBCU campus to a full time position.

Her supervisor, the late Iris Hunt-Smith said at the time in a Jet interview she was the best residence director she'd ever had.

But when Sharon's old male name popped up while checking her Social Security number, the administrators learned that she was a transwoman.

So what did they do? Bounced her out the door, citing misrepresentation on her application.

Sharon begs to differ. She said at time, "If I wasn't performing up to par I could understand. But the only decision was made according to gender. My being let go had nothing to do with performance. I would still be there today had they not found out."

That was cosigned by her boss Hunt-Smith, the then director of student housing. "She was an excellent residence director. She was doing a good job so I was very sad to see her go."

That experience galvanized her to become an activist and speak to GLBT organizations and groups at various North Carolina universities about her situation such as Duke and the University of North Carolina.

She's still an activist on GLBT employment issues, but now lives in Los Angeles and works for the LA Gay and Lesbian Center there.

You can check out this footage of Sharon speaking at a USC School of Social Work's All School Day on February 7, 2008.



Sharon Franklin Brown continues to remind us why ENDA is vitally important and needs to pressed far more aggressively to final passage than the community is currently doing.

I'm also happy to see that Sharon is still fighting for and representing the African descended trans community as well.

President Obama-2009 Nobel Peace Prize Winner!

Read it and weep conservafools. Guess the world doesn't hate the prez as much as y'all bellowed during your gloatfest after Chicago's bid to get the 2016 Olympics failed.

In a surprise decision, Obama became the fourth US president, the third sitting president and the first sitting president since Woodrow Wilson to be given the prestigious honor. The difference is he's getting it only 9 months into his presidency.

"I am both surprised and deeply humbled," Obama said from the White House this morning.

Predictably, the conservahaters started sniping. GOP puppet Michael Steele stated, that its "unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights."

You and your conservafriends a little jealous, Mikey?

The Norwegian Nobel Committee countered that it was trying "to promote what he stands for and the positive processes that have started now." It lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change.

The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts but Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than past winners'. The Nobel committee acknowledged that they may not bear fruit at all.

"He got the prize because he has been able to change the international climate," Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said. "Some people say, and I understand it, isn't it premature? Too early? Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now. It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us."

President Obama will be traveling to Oslo on December 10 to pick up his prize.

Happy 17th Anniversary To The First Couple

It escaped my attention that October 3 marked the First Couple's 17th wedding anniversary, but it didn't escape President Obama's.

They were married on October 3, 1992, so to celebrate the occasion last Saturday the First Couple got dressed up and headed to a local Washington restaurant called the Blue Duck Tavern for a private dinner.

It's in Washington's West End neighborhood and is an upscale, casual restaurant without a break-the-bank menu and American cuisine.

Hmm, may have to check it out.

Anyhoo, Happy anniversary to the First Couple.

Shut Up Fool! Awards-National Equality March Edition

At this moment buses are rolling to DC from all parts of the country for the National Equality March. It will be taking place on October 11 and the list of speakers for the march is being finalized as I write this.

One name I was happy to see on the list is Hawaii State Board Of Education Member Kim Coco Iwamoto, who as of this moment is the highest ranking political office holder as a US based transperson.

Hope that Brittany Novotny makes history of her own next year as she runs for a seat in the Oklahoma Legislature against homobigot Sally Kern.

Even though I'm ambivalent about the march because I haven't seen enough evidence to date that it's pushing a broad based TBLG agenda besides marriage equality, I still want it to be successful and come as close to filling up the Mall as possible.

Speaking of successful, let's see who succeeded in making fools of themselves and getting the honor of being called out this week for it.

As usual, there were many worthy candidates including the usual suspects of Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity and Rep. Michele Bachmann, last week's winner.

But this week's winner comes from the home state. I love being from Texas, hate the yahoos. The Texas Republican Party is farther right than the national one, and East Texas is a whole 'nother planet.

Meet our honoree, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX). During the hearing they held to discuss repealing DADT, this winning comment came out of his mouth.

If you're oriented toward animals, bestiality, then, you know, that's not something that can be used, held against you or any bias be held against you for that. Which means you'd have to strike any laws against bestiality, if you're oriented toward corpses, toward children, you know, there are all kinds of perversions, [...] pedophiles or necrophiliacs or what most would say is perverse sexual orientations but the trouble is, we made amendments to eliminate pedophiles from being included in the definition.

To quote an old activist mentor of mine, the late Dee McKellar, I am not surprised.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, shut the HELL up!

Musing About Carole Small

One of the great things about the digitizing of past EBONY and JET magazine issues is that they act as a digital time capsule that you can search for nuggets of history.

One of the pleasant surprises has been to discover just how much JET covered trans issues of people of African descent back in the day.

On the tail end of the March 16, 1967 issue of JET is a small two paragraph item about a transwoman named Carole Small, who they stated was about to undergo SRS in Denmark.

The story stated that the then 28 year old from Philadelphia, PA was working as a female illusionist and singer garnering quite a following in (West) Germany.

It ends with her stating, "Black women in America are the luckiest on the face of the earth and it will be marvelous to be one."

Assuming Carole is still alive she'd be about 70 now. Does she still echo the same youthful sentiment she expressed in 1967?

Did she stay in Europe or return back to the United States to live her life? Did she get married and blend into society or did she discover that being a transwoman carried its own baggage even if you have the genitalia between your legs?

Assuming Carole is still alive, what advice would she have for her African descended transisters who followed her?

So once again, we have JET introducing us to a transwoman on the verge of getting SRS, then leaving us hanging concerning the details.

And that's frustrating to me as a trans person of African descent who wants to know my history.

Harsh Realities For Transgender Students

My school days weren't as bad as some GLBT kids since I wasn't totally out yet, and my intellect got me placed in gifted an talented classes that allowed me to focus on my academics rather than how I was going to get through the day.

That usually can after I left the cocoon of gifted and talented classes and had to interact with the rest of the school's huddled masses in gym, recess, art and health classes or on my three mile walk home.

Even though I was matriculating through school in the 70's, J. Escobar's recent drama at North Cobb High School resonated with me and was a reminder of just how tough open trans kids have it trying to navigate the shoal filled school environment.

It's not that we don't have some brilliant people in the trans community. I've had the pleasure of meeting many of them. I discovered during my 20 year HS reunion that I wasn't the only transperson in my class. There is a transman in my Vanguard class that I'm aware of but haven't seen since we graduated and were on opposite sides of the gender fence.

I graduated with honors and a 3.0 GPA, but in hindsight I believe it could have been much higher if Monica was around in the late 70's and dealt with whatever gender issues I had then, even in a 70's era environment.

But it's hard to concentrate on academics to improve your life and set the table for a better future when you have concerns about other non-academic issues impacting it at that moment in time.


GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network recently published a report called Harsh Realities- The Experiences of Transgender Youth In Our Nation's Schools.

Autumn Sandeen wrote about it at Pam's House Blend back in March, and in light of what just happened to J. Escobar in Cobb County, GA, what happened a few months ago on Guam to Jeremy, and the federal civil rights lawsuit currently pending in court over what happened to KK Logan in Gary, IN, it's time to revisit this report.

Some of the findings of the report brought back some painful memories.

• Two-thirds of transgender students felt unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation (69%) and how they expressed their gender (65%).
• Almost all transgender students had been verbally harassed (e.g., called names or threatened) in the past year at school because of their sexual orientation (89%) and gender expression (87%).
• More than half of all transgender students had been physically harassed (e.g., pushed or shoved) in school in the past year because of their sexual orientation (55%) and gender expression (53%).
• More than a quarter of transgender students had been physically assaulted (e.g., punched, kicked or injured with a weapon) in school in the past year because of their sexual orientation (28%) and gender expression (26%).
• Most transgender students (54%) who were victimized in school did not report the events to school authorities. Among those who did report incidents to school personnel, few students (33%) believed that staff addressed the situation effectively.

• 90% of transgender students heard derogatory remarks, such as "dyke" or "faggot," sometimes, often or frequently in school in the past year.
• 90% of transgender students heard negative remarks about someone's gender expression sometimes, often or frequently in school in the past year.
• Less than a fifth of transgender students said that school staff intervened most of the time or always when hearing homophobic remarks (16%) or negative remarks about someone's gender expression (11%).
• School staff also contributed to the harassment. A third of transgender students heard school staff make homophobic remarks (32%), sexist remarks (39%) and negative comments about someone's gender expression (39%) sometimes, often or frequently in the past year.

I know all too well that outside influences can have a powerful impact on educational success. It's why I support whatever efforts are underway and ongoing to make schools a safe space for transgender students.

School should be a pleasant part of your childhood memories, not a bitter chapter of your life.

But for too many trans kids matriculating through school right now, that is the harsh reality of their school years.

Color Online Shows Me Some Love

Thanks to Color Online for profiling me as part of a feature they do there highlighting various bloggers.

It was the TransGriot's turn in a post entitled COLA: Transgriot: Expanding Our Ideas of Gender & Equality.

I deeply thank and appreciate the love from Color Online's editor for doing so.

If you peeps wish to see it, you can check it out via this link.

Trans Teen Has High School Dress Code Issues In Cobb County, GA

Ah, what would a school year be without some kind of dress code controversy, be it at the beginning or the end of the school year during prom season.

Why am I not surprised about this one? This is the same Cobb County that gained a worldwide negative rep for having an Olympic preliminary volleyball venue taken away from it before the 1996 Atlanta Games because of an anti-gay resolution it passed in August 1993.

The resolution passed by the Cobb County Commission but rescinded in 1997 stated among other things "that the life style advocated by the gay community should not be endorsed by government policy makers because they are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes."

I found out about it thanks to Pam's House Blend and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. BTW, I'm going to use feminine pronouns in this story, especially since she stated in the article, "I don't consider myself a cross-dresser. This is just who I am."

Jonathan Escobar moved from Miami to Kennesaw, GA to live with her older sister and attend North Cobb High School. Her old school in Florida didn't have a problem with her dressing in feminine attire, but her parents did.

Before beginning school at North Cobb, Escobar asked administrators about the dress code and asked if she could wear items like high heels, and brightly colored wigs.

She was told there wouldn't be a problem, but four days after starting school at North Cobb High School the fun started.

Kids will be kids, and someone started cracking jokes at her expense. A friend stood up for her and unfortunately a fight ensued.

School administrators told Escobar that she was now in violation of the section of the North Cobb High School dress code that states:

"All students shall be required to…refrain from any mode of dress which proves to contribute to any disruption of school functions.”

Translation, Escobar was told she had to dress more like a male or she couldn’t come to school.

Her sister Veronica says she's shocked by what has happened.

"I didn't think they would take it this far," Veronica Escobar said.

Escobar says she wasn't a disruption in the classroom, but she attracted attention in the lunchroom. "Everybody was surrounding me," she said.

On her second day of school, Escobar says he was pulled out of class to speak with a police officer who told her he was concerned about the student's safety.

"They should've told the students to back off," Escobar said. "They should have never given me the option of homeschooling or changing who I am."



In her short time at the Kennesaw school, Escobar has apparently made a lot of friends. By Tuesday evening, nearly 900 supporters had joined a Facebook group called "Support Jonathan." Many were planning to purchase a bright pink T-shirt with the same phrase.

Escobar says she wants to be allowed to attend school and eventually graduate. But she doesn't want to stifle what she calls her art.

"If I can't express myself, I won't go to school," he said. "I want to get the message out there that because this is who I am, I can't get an education."