camouflage replaces cross-dressing in texas grade school

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Texas school calls off "cross-dressing" day

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Camouflage was in and cross-dressing was out at a rural East Texas school district Wednesday after a Christian legal group complained a long-standing school tradition of reversing social roles for a day would promote homosexuality.

Students in Spurger, Texas were encouraged by school officials to wear camouflage hunting gear to class after they called off their annual "TWIRP Day" in which boys dressed as girls and vice versa.

The cross-dressing tradition began some years back as a kind of Sadie Hawkins Day where girls ask boys to go out on dates.

TWIRP stands for "The Woman Is Requested To Pay."

But Delana Davies, who has two children in the Spurger school, complained this year that the tradition could promote homosexuality and got the Liberty Legal Institute, a right-wing Christian legal group, to take up the cause.

"It might be fun today to dress up like a little girl -- kids think it's cute and things like that. And you start playing around with it and, like drugs, you do a little here and there (and) eventually it gets you," Davies told reporters.

"It is outrageous that a school in a small town in east Texas would encourage their 4-year-olds to be cross-dressers," institute litigation director Hiram Sasser said.

He sought and obtained permission from the district for the woman's children to stay out of school for the the day.

School attorney Tanner Hunt told Reuters the Liberty group misrepresented TWIRP Day and made it sound sinister when it has always been innocent fun.

"I guarantee you nobody on the school board or in the administration ever had that cross their minds," Hunt said of the "cross-dressing" reference.

Sasser said it was not his intent to disparage the school.

"The district gets mad every time I say 'cross-dress,' but I don't know what other way to describe it," he told Reuters. Because of the controversy, school officials decided to change Wednesday from TWIRP Day to Camouflage Day, in what Hunt described as a reference to the clothing hunters wear during deer-hunting season, which is going on now and is enormously popular in rural Texas.

Despite the change from TWIRP Day, Hunt said some of the students stuck to the old tradition and wore clothes of the opposite sex.

"I understand from the superintendent that some of the boys dressed in pink shorts anyway," he said. REUTERS

― elrod, Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Whoa! This must be the most illogical leap of thought I've ever heard.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Gets you what? A gig with the New York Dolls?
Queers and steers cannot be stopped

― LSTD (answer) (sexyDancer), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:16 (twenty-one years ago)

man how socially conservative do you have to be for sadie hawkins day to be too liberal for you

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:17 (twenty-one years ago)

And the idea of changing from cross-dressing to *hunter clothes*! "We want you to grow up to be real, animal-killing men, instead of pink-wearing sissy men!"

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

To think that the right complains about liberal changes with the moan "political correctness gone mad", when they do crap like this. Don't they understand that they are the ones sexualising children?

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

you can cross-dress AND wear camo at the same time! everyone wins!

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:22 (twenty-one years ago)

"I understand from the superintendent that some of the boys dressed in pink shorts anyway," he said.

"...and will be beaten severely every day for the next year by the hunters."

― Kenan (kenan), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:23 (twenty-one years ago)

as much as i hate that these fuxx run the world i somehow don't mind as much as i maybe should that they've chosen this battle to fight cuz frankly there isn't a chance of them winning; twenty years from now people will still be gay, will still be having sex (even anal sex, even oral sex), will still be listening to hip-hop, will still be watching porn, and, even in the red states where it may be outlawed by then, will still be having abortions. they'll probably still be reading harry potter and playing d&d too. just cuz these assholes' cause is doomed doesn't mean we aren't still obligated to fight these fuckers to the death though.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Are they going to ban the Powder Puff football game, too?

― Nemo (JND), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Texas, you are so fucking retarded.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 18 November 2004 21:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Hahahahaha

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 18 November 2004 21:45 (twenty-one years ago)

God I wish I had the free time to make a big deal about such petty crap.

At least it gets their fat ass of the porch swing for a few hours...

"Honey, get me my good hogwashers and the twelve-guage. Them kids are up at school again dressin' like queers..."

― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Thursday, 18 November 2004 21:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I just want to cite this as the totally bizarre non-linear thought of the day.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 18 November 2004 21:51 (twenty-one years ago)

ooh, what's the key 'gateway' drag item? pink shirts? undies?

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 18 November 2004 22:06 (twenty-one years ago)

It has to be rouge!

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 18 November 2004 22:09 (twenty-one years ago)

I totally caught lesbianism this way. I wore pants instead of a skirt and before you knew it, I wanted MORE AND MORE PANTS and then I started wearing SNEAKERS and then, then, THEN I BOUGHT A HAT. And that is how I caught lesbianism.

― Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Thursday, 18 November 2004 22:10 (twenty-one years ago)

thats how i caught it too

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Thursday, 18 November 2004 22:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I got it at a slumber party.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 18 November 2004 22:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I seem to recall a 9th-grade teacher of my brother's expressing similar thoughts. Maybe he will remember exactly what was said.

― Sanjay McDougal (jaymc), Thursday, 18 November 2004 22:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I got it at a slumber party.

That's pretty hot.

― Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Thursday, 18 November 2004 22:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the crux of the matter is: how come *I* didn't go to a school with "cross dressing" day? oh yeah, duh, I went to "private" schools. But still! Is this a normal thing for public schools in the U.S. to have?

I'm not against it by any means, of course! I just think it's funny that a, to me, rather odd and arbitrary thing for a public school to celebrate existed in this form in the first place -- and in, of all places, greater Houston!

"Meanwhile, a rural county in north Mississippi has called for the removal of a statue of a dripping phallus claiming "All for Cock, Cock for all!" at a local chapter of the YWCA today."

― donut christ (donut), Thursday, 18 November 2004 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I seem to remember having some sort of 'spirit week' or something, where each day had a theme. The only one I can definitively remember is 'clash day' where you wore like green plaid with red stripes or something.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 18 November 2004 22:43 (twenty-one years ago)

I do remember my grandmother fighting with my private school board over my french teacher basically telling us why Marxism was good, capitalism was stupid, and why telling me in front of her class why i was vile and horrible and stupid for telling my grandmother all the things she talked about in class. This is when I was in 4th grade. Not quite the same thing, and not as fun.

― donut christ (donut), Thursday, 18 November 2004 23:29 (twenty-one years ago)

You should have kicked her in the nuts.

― luna (luna.c), Thursday, 18 November 2004 23:41 (twenty-one years ago)

My grandmother or my french teacher??!!

They both got big balls, you know.

― donut christ (donut), Thursday, 18 November 2004 23:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Your French teacher sounds rockin'! Kick granny!

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 18 November 2004 23:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Your french teacher.

― luna (luna.c), Thursday, 18 November 2004 23:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I think British public schools still have a day where the power relationships are reversed (i.e. Teachers and pupils swap places. I don't actually know if this still goes on - it used to be common all over society a long time age - children would give sermons, for example, Apprenctices would boss around their masters. I think it's quite common for there to be days of the year on which social rules go haywire - see Ladie's Privilege on a leap year.) but I don't know to what extent, if any, gender roles were affected by this. Even so, I'm sure we all realise that it's harmless - I'm just surprised that children were willing to do this. Usually children's gender identity can be very rigidly defended by them.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Thursday, 18 November 2004 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Alex, I'm telling her you said that.

― donut christ (donut), Thursday, 18 November 2004 23:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha actually the singling you out in front of class thing was k-lame (and not terribly Marxist either) so maybe you should kick both of them.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 19 November 2004 00:00 (twenty-one years ago)

My high school did this, it was called "Powder Puff" day and the girls played football while the boys cheerled skirts. Nearly all of us have become crossdressers, though.

― andy, Friday, 19 November 2004 00:08 (twenty-one years ago)

I had a day at my school where I would dress up as Michael Jackson. Tuesday, I think.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Friday, 19 November 2004 00:09 (twenty-one years ago)

That redneck texas christian is right about drugs, too. Just one massive bong rip and you're hooked, I can attest to that.

― andy, Friday, 19 November 2004 00:22 (twenty-one years ago)

We didn't have cross-dress day, but my high school had Slave Day, in which the upper classmen chased and caught freshmen early in the day, penned them, and then by lunch or afternoon auctioned them off (for real money). The next day the slaves were supposed to report to their masters, and the masters would usually make them wear funny clothes or paint their faces, and have them do tasks for them. I was a slave (think I cost $2-3), though the guy that caught me had to ask if I agreed because I was bigger than he was. The next day he put some red paint on my face, maybe it was lipstick but not put on in a girly way, and tied some ribbons or string in my hair. I don't really recall him making me do anything, and I don't think I saw him much or at all later in the day. I think I cleaned up at lunchtime. I could have hid or said no the previous day, but I guess I just wanted to go along with the program. This was 1971, in California. They stopped Slave Day some time after that.

― nickn (nickn), Friday, 19 November 2004 00:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Jerry Brown issued the Education Emancipation Proclamation in 1976. That was largely symbolic though. It wasn't until state constitution was amended in 1979 that it ended for good. Although the social implications of the day still live on.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 19 November 2004 00:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I went to a private school back in the day, and the juniors DID do a switch day every year. I looked fetching in kilt. I didn't test my makeup skills, just the kilt and blouse. Alas, cross-dressing didn't "get me" though, and have not relapsed.

It was the early 80s. Boy George was blowing up.

― Hunter (Hunter), Friday, 19 November 2004 00:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm sad that I never got to wear a school dress. :(

― Andrew (enneff), Friday, 19 November 2004 01:07 (twenty-one years ago)

We had slave auctions in high school. And Sadie Hawkins was an old tradition, where everyone dressed up like the Beverly Hillbillies and the girls asked the boys to a dance. It was awful.

― andy, Friday, 19 November 2004 01:09 (twenty-one years ago)

this is sooo ridiculous. it started with janet jackson's tit and now it threatens never to end! now they're uptight about some commercial in a football locker room, or whatever.

(btw, I caught it like teeny.)

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Friday, 19 November 2004 02:31 (twenty-one years ago)

My school also had Senior Sleepover night during which we trespassed on school grounds and partied. I got completely drunk, broke a beer bottle on a terrace, tried to scoop the shards up in my hand, cut my hand to ribbons and ultimately, who knows how much later, blacked out in the commons room. The next morning I was ordered home, but my bloody handmarks and drips were all over the school. HOW I was not officially disciplined for these offenses I have no idea. There were only 38 people in my class-- it's not like I could get lost in the crowd.

― Hunter (Hunter), Friday, 19 November 2004 02:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Aus schools used to have a "muck up day" for the year 12 leavers at the end of the year, but I think most places have banned them now, because although it was mostly harmless pranks like water and flour bombs, shaving foam graffiti and dressing in costumes, some schools had incidents involving criminal damage... so they took it off everyone :(

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:08 (twenty-one years ago)

is there a better jesoid lawyer name than 'hiram sasser'? that's some meredith wilson shit right there.

― g--ff (gcannon), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:26 (twenty-one years ago)

hahahahaha

― TOMBOT, Friday, 19 November 2004 03:28 (twenty-one years ago)

funny thing is, this event was no big deal for ever bcz the idea of dressing up in the "wrong" clothes was so silly to this community that it wasn't even legible as a "sexual" act. but now it's all hypertouchy "pink showts, that shit ain't right." which means (optimistically, i say) TEH GAY IS COM TO E TXEAS!!!1 blount otm.

― g--ff (gcannon), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:29 (twenty-one years ago)

We also had Senior Ditch Day toward the end of the year, in which the entire senior class got on buses and spent the day at the beach (school sponsored, of course). The location was supposed to be secret because kids who found out would try to go there the day before and hide booze (or so the story went). The night before kids would do pranks at the school, which usually involved putting the lunch tables on the roof.

― nickn (nickn), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:33 (twenty-one years ago)

"pink showts" - g--ff i kiss you

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:33 (twenty-one years ago)

yknow blount i still chuckle abt gabbneb's "sail phones" line from that one ga pre-election thread.

― g--ff (gcannon), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:42 (twenty-one years ago)

there were these jr. frat and sorority type things that would do something like this, the girls would have to dress up some different way everyday, i remember one day they weren't allowed to wear makeup and there were at least two or three girls that holy moly looked even better and two or three girls that just as holy moly didn't look better. the guy's got off relatively easy. i do recall there was a 'john holmes day' for the guys though - you can imagine how that went. looking back it's kinda weird we managed to have a 'john holmes day', i mean there were some parents that tried to have 'flowers in the attic' removed from the library.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:45 (twenty-one years ago)

when stopping a thing means admitting you know what it means...

― g--ff (gcannon), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:48 (twenty-one years ago)

We totally had Spirit Week - you dressed up differently every one of the five days. Clash day, nerd day (entire school dressed as Ed Grimley), Sadie Hawkins (hillbillies, yes also the dance), but funniest was PUNK DAY; our Ardeche-raised French teacher bawled her eyes out because ze girls were RUINING ze class wiz ze deesrupteeve PUNKROCK; next year it got cancelled because the school's actual punkers complained that it was poseurish to dress like them for a day because of punk being their LIVES.

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 19 November 2004 06:32 (twenty-one years ago)

hahaha

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 19 November 2004 08:09 (twenty-one years ago)

I think it's quite common for there to be days of the year on which social rules go haywire

Doesn't this go back to Saturnalia and so on?

(if you believe Robert Graves, it goes all the way back to the matriarchal mesolithic and the ritual annual sacrifice of the king. If you believe in the matriarchal mesolithic, of course.)

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 19 November 2004 08:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I always liked "Rival Day", where you dressed up in enemy school colors. That's where you saw where everyone's stripes really were. "Oh, so if it wasn't for West Side, Misty would be all about Heber? Pish."

There would be the people who showed up wearing Razorback shirts, as if the state's major university was somehow a rival to our dinky high school.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 19 November 2004 16:00 (twenty-one years ago)

is there a better jesoid lawyer name than 'hiram sasser'?

Yes. There is. Hiram's little son Maximus.

"Hiram Sasser is the Director of Litigation for Liberty Legal Institute. Mr. Sasser has stressed the importance of First Amendment freedoms by handling numerous cases and representing a conservative viewpoint to the public both locally and nationally. He has been featured on CBS Channel 11, NBC Channel 5, ABC Channel 8, Telemundo, and WB Channel 33 in Dallas. Nationally, Mr. Sasser has appeared on Dayside with Linda Vester on Fox News, CNN, The Alan Colmes Radio Show, and USA Radio.

Prior to joining LLI, Mr. Sasser graduated from Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he received recognition as the "Outstanding Graduate" for the Class of 2002. Mr. Sasser also had the honor of being a Hatton Sumners Scholar, which is a prestigious regional scholarship program. Among his class, he was recognized for being a distinguished orator and named the First Place Oralist in the 2001 Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. In 2002, Mr. Sasser made a presentation entitled, Tenets of International Law, to the William J. Halloway Inn of Court. At Oklahoma City University School of Law, he was a member of the Christian Legal Society and Phi Delta Phi.

Mr. Sasser earned his B.A. from Oklahoma State University, where the U.S. Army awarded him the highly coveted Distinguished Military Graduate Award. In addition, his military service included serving as Headquarters Commander, a Company Executive Officer, and Training Officer in the United States Army Reserves.

Mr. Sasser and his wife, Robbie, have one son, Maximus."

― Paul Ess (Paul Ess), Friday, 19 November 2004 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Maximus Sasser. The mind boggles.

― Paul Ess (Paul Ess), Friday, 19 November 2004 17:34 (twenty-one years ago)

No girl is named Robbie. He's married to a man!

― Nemo (JND), Friday, 19 November 2004 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Doesn't this go back to Saturnalia and so on?

(if you believe Robert Graves, it goes all the way back to the matriarchal mesolithic and the ritual annual sacrifice of the king. If you believe in the matriarchal mesolithic, of course.)

Yeah, I would suspect that any society advanced enough to have social rules and some form of calender would have traditions like these. I suppose social rules place quite a large strain on a society, and this would be a way of blowing off steam. Also, generally, there are times of day/year when natural laws are considered to be fluid in some way - midnight, midwinter, midsummer in western societies anyway.

It's not a real change of power relationships, though, it's controlled, and the power always remains with older men, as a form of Uber-control. As far as cross-dressing is concerned, it is interesting to note that, in western societies anyway, men cross-dressing is quite common, but the taboo on women cross-dressing is much stronger (stage actors, for example). It's thought that this is partly because cross-dressing occured as part of festivals involving drinking, innuendo, fighting, good 'boys' stuff - though it is possible that homosexuality played it's part in these customs. I think it's because men dressing up as women is much funnier than women dressing up as men.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Friday, 19 November 2004 17:49 (twenty-one years ago)

"...funniest was PUNK DAY; our Ardeche-raised French teacher bawled her eyes out because ze girls were RUINING ze class wiz ze deesrupteeve PUNKROCK; next year it got cancelled because the school's actual punkers complained that it was poseurish to dress like them for a day because of punk being their LIVES."

god i hate punkers

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Friday, 19 November 2004 17:55 (twenty-one years ago)

the tradition could promote homosexuality

but won't dressing in camouflage lead to kids growing up to be foliage?

― Huk-L, Friday, 19 November 2004 18:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, they'll become Ents! And I don't remember any female Ents...

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Friday, 19 November 2004 18:06 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.ciadvertising.org/studies/student/99_fall/theory/maria/LeoBurnett/greengiant.JPG

― Huk-L, Friday, 19 November 2004 18:09 (twenty-one years ago)

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