For months, 17-year-old Trevor Wilkinson has been in a battle with Clyde High School, who gave him an in-school suspension for wearing nail polish.
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Wilkinson launched a petition on the issue, where he wrote, “I am a gay male and I’m beyond proud. This is unjust and not okay. Help me show that it is okay to express yourself and that the identity that society wants to normalize is not okay. I am a human. I am valid. I should not get in trouble for having my nails done.”
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The petition received over 400,000 signatures, and Wilkinson’s story was shared everywhere. He also attended a school board meeting, Out reports, where he begged the board to understand why asking him to remove his polish is discriminatory.
“This isn’t about me anymore,” he said. “It’s about a discriminatory, sexist policy that needs to be changed. Why is it against dress code for a man to be comfortable with his masculinity and defy the gender norms society has imposed on us? Why is it harmful for me to wear nail polish? If it’s not harmful for girls to wear it, why is it harmful for males?”
He added, “Traditional values are great, but change is inevitable. Diversity is what makes this country so beautiful.”
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At the time, nothing changed, but this year the Clyde CISD school board made a big change when they voted on the dress code on Monday. They have changed the guidelines and are no longer separating the rules by gender.
MY HIGH SCHOOLS DRESS CODE IS GENDER NEUTRAL FOREVER OH MY GOODNESS
— trevvvv;) (@trevvowilkinson) April 20, 2021
“It is with great honor that I am pleased to announce that Clyde High School’s dress code is officially gender neutral forever,” Wilkinson said. “I’m at a loss of words for the joy I am feeling on this special day. I am so blessed by the support, love, and help I have received through this experience.”
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“People are more comfortable at school,” Wilkinson told NBC News. “I think that I will always look back on this experience and know that I did the right thing.”
And that he had a great manicure the whole time.
*First Published: April 24, 2021, 8:16 am
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