Is it Time to Ban BOTS?
High schools are beginning to realize how problematic Battle of the Sexes assemblies and spirit weeks are and as more people are speaking out against them and getting them canceled.
Battle of the Sexes spirit weeks put boys and girls against each other. Each day pertains a different spirit day. The boys dress up days tend to be seen as stronger and dominant as the girls days are more dainty and fragile. At the assemblies boys and girls are separated and put on each side of the gym. Boys are expected to wear blue and girls pink. They are then put against one another in various tasks and challenges like trivia games to tuggawars. Sometimes people tend to overlook this assembly’s problematic nature. Battle of the Sexes is sexist, promotes gender norms, and increases dysphoria and anxiety among transgender students at the assemblies.
Students at Monte Vista High School have realized this and got their B.O.T.S canceled. Tiffany Garcia president of GSA (Gay Straight Alliance club) expressed her concerns with the Feminist Club. The leaders of this club listened to what was wrong with it and were understanding however Garcia said it was the members that were rude and said, “ you should just be proud of who you are and it shouldn’t be a problem.” However, it’s not that simple. Prior to the beach bum day shown in the picture there was a gender bender spirit day. This day was supposed to be where students can wear clothes that belong to an opposite sex however Garcia said, “It’s just harmful to trans kids because they felt kind of mocked. In a way its bashing them because it’s poking fun at people who dress that way every day.” along with the fact that it promotes the idea that only two genders exist and “…a certain type of clothes is for a specific gender” both of which are false.
This did not fly with their friend and another student at Monte Vista High School Shelby Campos. Campos said, “ I was tired of high school kids and their voluntary close-minded mentality, refusing to recognize that transgender is something more common in this day and age, and it is a lifestyle that needs to be respected.” This was ultimately brought this up with the school’s vice principal Ms. Rad, and the spirit week was terminated. Activist students in collaboration with open-minded administration were able to end this spirit week.
There was some backlash with this action. ASB (Associated Student Body) the students who plan these events retaliated. Campos said, “Their defense was that they weren’t intentionally making fun of transgenders, and we knew that, but they thought we didn’t. We knew they weren’t intentionally making this day out to make people offended or to make fun of a lifestyle, but they didn’t understand that that’s what it turned into, and why it needed to be taken seriously.” Along with that Campos received harassment online and behind her back at school.
I spoke to a high school graduate who expressed the same feelings. Lauren Stegman and her transgender girlfriend at the time actually wore purple during the assembly in protest. Stegman said the symbolism of this was, “…to incorporate both of the “gender norm” colors, pink and blue, and they mix to create purple. By doing so, mixing the two, you’re using purple to represent the whole spectrum of gender rather than two. It could be said that different shades of purple can represent different proportions of female/male that the person feels, but in general purple represents the whole spectrum.” high schools who continue to cater pink to girls and blue to boys are remaining uneducated and oblivious to ALL of their students needs and genders. Transgender students also aren’t safe in these kinds of situations. Very few students have the resources, money, or ability to transition during this time. The dysphoria and anxiety caused by being forced to sit on their “assigned” side can be mentally detrimental, in addition to the bullying that they can undergo for sitting on the “wrong side” On top of this there is no place for gender-queer or intersex people.
These three individuals agree that this knowledge must be spread throughout all high schools. Battle of the Sexes spirit weeks are not safe and remain to be exclusive to transgender students. However this is still a new issue and only a few schools have gotten on board. In a progressive light one school, Castle View High School has begun a petition to get theirs cancelled, which you can sign here http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cvhs-gender and keep passing it along to ultimately get Battle of the Sexes spirit weeks stopped in high schools.
