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Found the link to this in a friend's journal ( here ), and knew I had to spread the word and share:
Upstate New York High School Forces Girls To Advertise Their Periods
Story link: ]here[
On a personal note... This policy would have gotten me killed, had it been at my high school! I'm from rural Missouri, where the folks are not all that accepting of differences. I am intersexed (which means in this case that I was declared a boy at birth [thankfully, no "corrective" surgery happened], and at age 12 when I had my first period / started developing breasts, I was ordered by family and the school administration [Principal, Vice Principal, Superintendent, and the School Board Members] to not let anyone know! There's more to that struggle, but not pertinent here). So. You think learning to deal with your period is hard, try doing so by having to find a way to change your tampon in the boys' restroom without anyone finding out. In such a rural area, anyone different - even for medical reasons - is "queer" or a "geek" and would have the snot beaten out of them. So no way to sneak the tampons around? I would have quite literally been KILLED. Beaten about the head and shoulders until dead. I had my share of beatings for both being a geek and queer already. This would have put me in the "hunt-the-pansy-down-when-no-one-is-around-after-school-or-at-night" category.
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
Wasn't it Jim Henson who said, "Without faith, I am nothing," after all? No. Wait. That was God. Sorry, common mistake...
Comments
Yes; outraged
...but why are these people SO frightened of their own children?? FDR was wrong; ignorance and the fear pushers are even scarier than fear its self.
Jan
Midwest Mentality
I was born and raised in Minnesota. I too had to deal with the midwest mentality of geek and queer. I was born in 1950, I was also IS. I knew I was a girl from the beginning, my other problem was I was also smart. I was getting beaten by boys so they could prove their manhood(?) I was also gettingb beaten because I was very smart. I couldn't tone down the femme part of me. I did well to keep away from rowdy boys. I learned to tone down my brainiacness.
In Minnesota, where I was living if a boy was even thought to be effeminate it was a living hell. A walking target for all the boys to use as a punching bag and for groups to do their thing.
I had a paper route, I used to carry school books in my paper bag, it was the best weapon I had. I knocked out a kids two front teeth, after that they left me alone. At age 13 my family moved away from Minnesota.
Jill Micayla
May you have a wonderful today and a better tomorrow
Jill Micayla
Be kinder than necessary,Because everyone you meet
Is fighting some kind of battle.
Happy
Stories like that make me so happy I'm not living in the USA. They make me believe that even African countries have a higher level of civilisation. I'm a bit surprised however that this happened in a New York school as I always thought this was one of the more open-minded areas.
Of course I have another advantage apart from not living in the states. I'm living in a city so if any school/shop/company/whatever is displaying unacceptable behaviour I can easily find another one.
Hugs,
Kimby
Hugs,
Kimby
What ever gave you the idea
That New York was "open-minded"? Actually, it's places on the East Coast and Left, I mean West Coast that are more likely to pass rules such as this that deny a personal freedom in the name of the greater good. Where I live in the southern part of the country personal things such as periods are treated with a great deal more sensitivity.
As for being in the USA, I don't think we want to get started on silly laws, do we? And as there are African countries still practicing genital mutiliation, do you really want to use them as a standard of civilization?
I've had the pleasure of living in many places, and I'm still proud and happy to call the United States my home.
Accord here.
People often confuse NYC with the rest of the state. It's pretty much two different worlds.
The great thing about the US is that policies like the alleged one in question here are routinely struck down by courts, whereas in many, many other countries religious leaders, dictators, et al. do whatever the hell they want.
Jodie
Don't believe everything that you read.
There's always much, much more to the story than is actually reported--especially from sources such as the once linked here. I have no knowledge of this case at all, but having worked for an organization that was the brunt of many of these types of articles, all I can say is that I'm more than a little dubious.
Jodie
xoxo
It's more
That I'm outraged over the policy itself due to my personal issues, really. Intersex is far more wide-spread than most believe, and so we're discounted as a non-issue minority. This would have gotten me dead. I shudder to think about any of the kids that may be IS in any school with this policy.
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
Wasn't it Jim Henson who said, "Without faith, I am nothing," after all? Wait, no, that was God. Sorry, common mistake...