A 13 year-old girl and her conservative Christian mother are fighting against legislation that allows transgender students the right to use bathroom and changing facilities that match their gender identity, claiming that it will result in her failing High School.
Sigourney Cole has told school officials that she is being discriminated against because transgender students have been given the right to use the bathrooms and changing facilities that best match their gender identity. Speaking out on the issue Sigourney told officials that she did not wish to use the same facilities as transgender students due to religious reasons, and that her feelings should trump the law.
Sigourney and her mother have been fighting hard to get her school, Emmaus High School in Eastern Penn, to ban transgender people from using bathroom and changing facilities, despite the fact that there are no actual transgender students in the same class as Sigourney.
Speaking on Monday evening at a school board meeting the young woman said, 'I am a woman, and I identify as a woman, and you can't make me change in front of someone who I don;t identify with who is physically male.'
She went on to say that because transgender students are allowed to use the same facilities as her (again, despite not having any trans students in her own class) she feels that she must sit out of gym class, a choice that will result in her failing gym and ultimately High School. She is claiming that this is somehow her being discriminated against.
'I feel nothing against transgenders, I would just not like their rights to overrule mine.' She spoke out, somehow equating equal rights to a marginalised group having more rights than she does in some warped view on reality where not being privileged means being discriminated against.
'Gym requires us to participate to pass high school and if I don't change I'm not allowed to participate. So my options are to let myself be discriminated against or fail gym for not participating and not pass through high school, which would jeapardise my future.'
Sigourney's mother, Aryn Coyle, shares the same extreme views on the situation and has been actively supporting and encouraging her daughter, going so far as to likening the fight to discriminate against transgender students as a 'battle' on her Facebook account.
Aryn has tried to write tot he school to have them allow Sigourney to be excluded from the class due to religious reasons, however, the school principal responded to her to say that 'religious exemption from class only applies in health class due to sexuality content and not gym class'.
'I have always been an advocate of any special arrangement that prevents any group of people from being mistreated based on who they are.' Aryn wrote on social media, blissfully unaware of how contradictory that statement is to her actions and just how bigoted she actually is. 'But I will NOT stand by while the law dictates that male bodies are allowed to walk into my daughters locker room, undress next to her, and shower alongside her. Whether or not the male bodies are covered in pants or skirts is irrelevant. They have no place in her locker room.'
Aryn has said that she is proud of her daughters bigotry, and that she will stand by her even if her selfish hate leads her to fail high school for wanting transgender students to be discriminated against. Again, just to make this clear, there are no transgender students involved in this case at all, Sigourney Coyle has no transgender classmates, she just wants her religion to trump any potential real people.
Amy.
xx
So because of her discomfort. The other girl has to be put in danger by changing in boys room. Why doesn't she use a towl to change. Wonder what she's going to do when she realizes there's lesbians in her gym class too.
ReplyDeleteThe crazy thing is, there is no other girl! She wants to change the rules on principle. She won't change for gym because a trans girl would be allowed to be there... not because there is a trans girl there.
DeleteMy question is who the fuck showers at school? There weren't showers in our locker rooms. We had lockers and that was it.
DeleteYou didn't have showers for after gym in high school?
DeleteYou just had to go back to class all sweaty?
That's just grose.
Actually, most schools now don't allow showering and yes, from what students I've spoken with when I was an assistant softball coach 15 years ago, they just go back to class sweaty.
DeleteYes, there are showers, and not taking a shower is a fail for the class that day, but she is making the choice to not do so, so I don't feel bad for her at all.
DeleteCrystalshine, are you from that area? just wondering because a LOT of schools, including mine my last year there, stopped that due to "medical" reasons, too hard to keep bacteria, fungi, etc the way most are built. if they were built PROPERLY it shouldnt BE a problem, or you do what most do, have flip flops for while IN the shower (heck even the MILITARY does this)
Deletegym changing rooms have stalls for a reason. she can use those.
ReplyDeletenot all do from what i have been told, in some older schools especially. if she has a problem, let HER use a "special accommodation" then :D
Deleteaccept it and get over it already this is our future unless we do this now it will just cause more pain violence and wrongdoings. we are all equal and we are who we define our self as. if she saids she gonna fail high school because of it thats on her for not learning this is the world now wake up and smell the PRIDE. LGBT+PRIDEFOREVER
DeleteJust saying, that's only gonna affect her. And I'm a ftm transgender and I've been using the mens restroom since day one.
Delete#lilneddy
and I am a trans woman, full time for 18 months after repressing bad things from when i was 9 until 42. i was just commenting that its not always that simple, some school districts barely have the money for books, much less adding stalls, etc.
DeleteAs a certain gray rabbit used to say "What a maroon!"
DeleteThis is CRAZY!!! Let the kid graduate!!!!!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deleteanonymous, there is NO reason she COULDNT graduate. she is NOT in a class WITH a trans person, so her "refusal" makes absolutely NO sense. its either grandstanding, probably egged on by her parents, preacher, etc, or it's just a way for her to be lazy. i remember a lot of religious groups NEVER liked the "communal" shower idea, this might be their way to get it removed.
DeleteWhat an idiot
ReplyDeleteDear God the bible teaches love and inclusion maybe these people should read or before using it as a weapon to spread hate
ReplyDeleteYou should watch the movie Saved! if you haven't already. I believe it's on Netflix right now. Your post reminded me of this scene:
Deletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=umLUKBlpyoY
Dear God the bible teaches love and inclusion maybe these people should read or before using it as a weapon to spread hate
ReplyDeleteok, so a child who ISNT in a class (at least right now) with a trans student is going to refuse to change, because she is required too (bs, she could use the bathrooms stalls at worst if it bothers her that much) in front of someone "who is physically male". sounds more like mom or some group is pushing this, NOT this child. granted, she MIGHT just be that bigoted, its easily taught, especially in "fundamental" churchs, you know like the FLDS groups, or the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist churchs that are similar to the West-burro Baptist Church, except they are "true believers" where the WBC is just in it for the law suits, no one "violating their rights" no paycheck, its why they leave when the protests stay peaceful, they are a family of lawyers. after all they teach such fundamental things as pedophilia (marrying girls at 12-13 and having sex, or Daddy Duggars admission that fellow parishioners in THEIR church said sons sexually assaulting little girls was common and "normal" for them) incest (common to marry half siblings, after all when your dad has 3-20 "wives", its hard NOT to marry someone you are related to)
ReplyDeletehow again are the religious right the party of MORALITY?????
I think it's not only the religion side of things, it's the fact that its too easy for a guy to walk in looking like a woman, and no offense to you,anyone else, but it's too easy for a guy to dress up like a woman and a woman to dress up as a man, and rape someone, and this is coming from a guy, that would hurt myself before I'd even THINK of raping anyone, but if I have offended you in any way, I'm sorry
DeleteDo you really think a mtf trans person would go through the harassment & bullying from his peers just to attack a female? Being trans isn't just playing dress up, it's evaluations, consultations & THEN hormone/testosterone therapy.
DeleteIt's also very easy for trans person to be attacked for using the facilities they were assigned at birth because, let's face it, kids are CRUEL! There were cis gender outcast kids who were locked in stalls, jumped, bullied any way you could imagine when I was in school & if they spoke up, it only got worse.
Believe me when i say NO ONE wants the harassment the trans community deals with daily. People just need to realize we're all different & we're all just trying to get by.
I shouldn't be laughing but I am, her reasoning is so ridiculous I can't help but snicker. Honestly she really could use a stall if it's that bothersome. What's astonishing to me is that she's throwing this entire fit when there is literally no trans person for her to be hiding from.
ReplyDeleteWell she can drop out now and get her "education" from her god.
ReplyDeleteWell she can drop out now and get her "education" from her god.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the actual religious reason she's citing here, as I don't think gym class existed in biblical times.
ReplyDeleteIt's basic bigotry. Her mom supports her decision fully because she taught her daughter the same hate that her daughters grand parents taught her . It's a chain of ignorance. People are bigots or racist because of the unknown. They where raised to dislike and hate somebody for one reason or another, instead of educating themselves they get angry at what they do not know are too stubborn to care to listen. I have found being patient and calm and telling people the truth , usually works. People are people , they learn hate and anger , just as they can unlearn it , just not until they are ready to unlearn it. Have patients , and be kind. ��
ReplyDeleteI think people are all for others feeling comfortable in the skin they're in, but the problem with the trans community is they want everyone to compromise to meet their needs. Trans in secondary school shower stalls and locker rooms and competing against real females in competitive sports are taking away the rights from bio-females. We ( bio-females)don't have a say, and it's not fair. You can "feel/identify" as a woman but you're not. By trying to force bio-females to accept trans women will only lead to resentment. Next, female competitive sports will be dominated by intersex and transgendered athletes, there will be no bio-females able to compete ( which means no college scholarships to play sports). It's not fair or right.
DeleteIt's basic bigotry. Her mom supports her decision fully because she taught her daughter the same hate that her daughters grand parents taught her . It's a chain of ignorance. People are bigots or racist because of the unknown. They where raised to dislike and hate somebody for one reason or another, instead of educating themselves they get angry at what they do not know are too stubborn to care to listen. I have found being patient and calm and telling people the truth , usually works. People are people , they learn hate and anger , just as they can unlearn it , just not until they are ready to unlearn it. Have patients , and be kind. ��
ReplyDeleteI get it noone wants to dress out for gym class, but theres better ways to be lazy.
ReplyDeleteDumb Bitch
ReplyDeleteIf she's that stupid to think like that then she's guaranteed to fail .. hahaha.
ReplyDeleteIf she's that stupid to think like that then she's guaranteed to fail .. hahaha.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind there's a college out there that gives Sarah Palin a degree.
DeleteTake her argument at absolute face value, and what it actually is arguing for is "remove compulsory gym or allow me to participate without changing", either of which is a perfectly acceptable solution that doesn't involve trans people being hurt...
ReplyDeleteTrans folk have been campaigning for years for equal rights, what about their feelings. For someone to say they will fail an exam because of this issue is TOTALLY wrong, both morally and ethically.
ReplyDeleteGet real, and get on with what is important - learn and pass your exams!!!
I read this when one of my friends shared the link on Facebook, I was outraged, shared it myself and moved on. When I got home and looked at the picture on my computer, I realized that the girl looks familiar. Her family plays board games at the store where my son plays. Her younger brother cheated in a tournament so ridiculously that my son hasn't played that game since. That's some good Christian values right there.
ReplyDeleteWHAT A WHITE TRASH BIGOT...YOU WILL FAIL SCHOOL ON YOUR OWN...NOT BECAUSE OF A TRANS WOMAN...YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN...THE BIBLE POINTS THAT OUT IN YOUR LIFE...GO TO HELL BIGOT!!!
ReplyDeleteI was vice president of Emmaus Highscools GSA. Never once has there been an issue with trans kids. This attitude of a freshman is disrespectful and they have a lot to learn.
ReplyDeleteThere never is a problem with the trans kids. From what I've read the other students seldom have an issue with trans kids in school. Its always an adult.
DeleteYou've heard the song from South Pacific: "you have to be carefully taught....:
I went to one of the worst schools in Ontario, if not Canada and I never had a problem lol. I got less hate then the poor gay couple in my town.
DeleteHave the girl learn an instrument she can march with, and join Marching Band. No gym locker requirements, there, and MB usually satisfies PhysEd requirements.
ReplyDeletein some places it might, not everywhere. in my HS, norther California, it didnt, AFJROTC did. you had band class, but the marching was done before or after school, so didnt count as a gym class. of course this was 84-88.
DeleteI know it MB and JROTC doesn't count for PhysEd. Dance is counted though for 10th- 12th graders.
Deleteas i stated, back in 84-88, in northern california, JROTC could count as science OR PE. marching daily was considered enough exercise, but i also was on the color guard and rifle team. they didnt offer dance closest would be drama (small rural area, but it WAS a fairly new school so we actually had a stage room, with an upper balcony which was a good thing in 92 during the school shooting (lindhurst high school)
DeleteChildren can by shy about their bodies and so I believe the school should put in a few stalls if there are none in place. This would be the right thing to do for all the children, straight or transgenger. Adults commenting on here should be more understanding and use less name calling. Set an example.
ReplyDeleteyou are quite right. and i am all for that, i never liked dressing down in hs, so i either got there early, or waited till others were done and risked being late, most boys lockers DONT have privacy stalls, i even made my one PE class my last class so i didnt have to take a shower.
DeleteThink positive. I agree with you. Just a little note: It is not straight or transgender.
DeleteTransgender has nothing to do with sexuality. A transgender person can be of any sexuality.
If you were referring to transgender kids and non transgender kids the word to use for non transgender is cis.
I think that Think Positive meant being Cis, just wrong term.
Deleteyes most kids that age are body shy, is mine as big/good as theirs? if it isnt, i will be teased, bullied, etc. and so on.
I agree about name calling.And I agree with the fact that children can be shy about changing clothes... but this looks to me like someone, mom perhaps, is using her daughter to try to discriminate against Trans kids. There are no transgender students in her grade. Meaning this is hypothetical, she doesn't want to change because a trans girl COULD be in the lockers with her, not because there is.
DeleteI agree about name calling.And I agree with the fact that children can be shy about changing clothes... but this looks to me like someone, mom perhaps, is using her daughter to try to discriminate against Trans kids. There are no transgender students in her grade. Meaning this is hypothetical, she doesn't want to change because a trans girl COULD be in the lockers with her, not because there is.
DeleteI will not now nor will I ever understand bigotry. This girl is a bigot. She's a moron and she's a bigot. She's trying to take away other people's human rights because she's a bigot. I'm not going to be nice to this little girl. No one should be nice to this little girl.
DeleteWhile I understand that kids could be shy and stalls should be provided. She is wrong for saying she cannot dress down because off transgender kids when there are no transgender kids in her grade. The point is moot so she is just being hateful and bratty
DeleteShe could Join JROTC and then she wouldn't have to worry about gym class....
ReplyDeletePetition to make standing in front of a train a gym alternative elective. ..
ReplyDeletePetition to make standing in front of a train a gym alternative elective. ..
ReplyDeleteAnd the stupidity of hate poisons another generation. How can humans still be so stupid is beyond me. And it has to be stupid, because you can teach the ignorant.
ReplyDeletethis was one of my former high school's rivals. they shouldn't speak b/c they had a porn site depicting Emmaus students. when WAHS called them out on it we freaking got banned from their basketball games (teeshirts had Emmaus Pornets on it) but yeah as ASD (Allentown School District alum, class of 2011) i cannot stand emmaus. most of them are snotty as hell. I had to endure two swim meets with emmaus over my 2 years being on the swim team for allen. and boy are the awkward.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like this girl and her mother are making a choice. Let her fail gym class. If that's what she wants to do that's what she wants to do. But no her rights don't "override" other people's rights. Trans people DO have rights. They're this thing we call people. Real life people. Not like the how conservatives believe that corporations are people. But actually living breathing bleeding human beings. And their human rights always Trump the religious rights.
ReplyDeleteI think people are all for others feeling comfortable in the skin they're in, but the problem with the trans community is they want everyone to compromise to meet their needs. Trans in secondary school shower stalls and locker rooms and competing against real females in competitive sports are taking away the rights from bio-females. We ( bio-females)don't have a say, and it's not fair. You can "feel/identify" as a woman but you're not. By trying to force bio-females to accept trans women will only lead to resentment. Next, female competitive sports will be dominated by intersex and transgendered athletes, there will be no bio-females able to compete ( which means no college scholarships to play sports). It's not fair or right.
DeleteShe doesn't need to fail high school. There's religious people who for some reason or another won't attend a public high school. They find a religious school or they do home schooling. There's no need to fail high school.
ReplyDeleteI wonder,.... Did she participate in gym class before?
ReplyDeleteOr, is she looking for an excuse to get out of class?
some one else posited something similar, that it was just a way to remove the mandatory gym requirement. no info on that so not sure it she IS just using this as an excuse NOT to be active, or is "genuinely" feeling this way.
DeleteThis idiot has already failed at life.
ReplyDeleteisn't this girls 15 minutes of fame over ? these stories are old news already , I am a proud trans women and nobody is going to tell me what restroom I can use
ReplyDeleteThese people need to quit spending so much time in other peoples under pants. Geez....
ReplyDeleteI don't want to share a locker room with someone who's that ugly. It's offensive to my eyes.
ReplyDeleteThen she fails. Done
ReplyDeleteThis family has already failed at being empathetic humans...
ReplyDeleteShe has already failed; as a human being.
ReplyDeleteThis girl has many options. Her and her mother's agenda is transparent as fuck.
ReplyDeleteSo, I may have sent this to the mother. (Part 1)
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm 19, almost 20. I'm an openly PROUD transgender. I want to know how you and your daughter have the right to try to make other kids feel completely uncomfortable in school. They get enough from people. Most have to hide who they are until they get out of school because of hateful bullies and bigots. 41% of transgenders try to commit suicide because of discrimination. And a lot succeed and if not, they keep trying. Your daughter isn't being discriminated against. At all. Discrimination is someone standing in your face telling you who you are is wrong when you're not harming anyone, just trying to live free, and you're not allowed to have equal rights. You're both bigots. There's plenty of ways for your daughter to change without the 'fear' of someone who has the opposite parts as her seeing her. Bathroom stalls is one. I did it because I wasn't allowed to go into the male locker room. And, she does understand there's probably lesbians/bisexuals in that room with her, right? It's no different. If she's so uncomfortable taking a shower and being seen, wear a bathing suit. Tons of people do it. Transgenders, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, we've fought long enough to get our rights. Love and peace is more important than hate and discrimination. You say you have no problem with us, but you do if you're not standing up for our rights. What kind of example are you setting for your kid? She's already turning into a bigot. She's 13! If she continues down this path, she'll might as well just have to drop out. Because transgender rights are going to continue to be fought for and we will win. That's a promise. And as she gets older, more people will open up and speak who they are. Which means more transgender people.
(Part2)
DeleteThere's not even any in her class. She shouldn't be spending this time hating transgender people, she should spend this time trying to understand them. We hurt so much. Our hearts break every time we look at our bodies. We're trapped in a cage with no door and a locked window, looking out at the world, wishing we could break free. This is a problem. We have identy disorders. We have to see counselors and go through seeing doctors after doctors and we have to fight to get enough money just to get surgeries so we can be right. We don't want this. We didn't ask for this life. It just happened. We were born this way. We'd do anything to be different, but nobody can ask us to live a lie. A male who was suppose to be a female and dresses like a female has a lot more chances of being physically or mentally hurt if placed in the male locker room or male bathroom. We're terrified half the time, if not, more. A lot more damage done to them than could ever happen to your daughter. You're claiming that because a human being gets rights, your daughter's education is in danger. What about those transgender kids that get placed in hospitals because they got the crap beat out of them or they try to commit suicide because they feel so hated? Where's THEIR education? They don't even get to go to school. School is hell for transgender people. Learn to make it easier for them. It's called change. Compromise. What you're doing isn't compromise. It isn't change. You're causing us to stay in one place instead of moving forward. How is that fair? Your daughter is one person. We're talking about hundreds of people. Equality isn't putting one person first, it's literally accepting everyone. They're not going to change because there's nothing wrong with who they are. They're still human beings. Women got their rights. Blacks got their rights. Gay people got their right to get married. It's time for transgender people to have their right to identify as the gender they were suppose to be and be allowed to live by that. Change, not hate. Learn to love everyone. You're a Christian woman, God wants everyone to love everyone. There's nothing wrong with people like me. We just want to live free, just like everyone else. I hope you at least try to see it this way.
I think people are all for others feeling comfortable in the skin they're in, but the problem with the trans community is they want everyone to compromise to meet their needs. Trans in secondary school shower stalls and locker rooms and competing against real females in competitive sports are taking away the rights from bio-females. We ( bio-females)don't have a say, and it's not fair. You can "feel/identify" as a woman but you're not. By trying to force bio-females to accept trans women will only lead to resentment. Next, female competitive sports will be dominated by intersex and transgendered athletes, there will be no bio-females able to compete ( which means no college scholarships to play sports). It's not fair or right.
DeleteShe using that shit for an excuse, there are none in her class yet she won't dress out cuz they can be there...we all have choices to make acting responsibly in our own actions and outcomes. She chooses not to mind her own, do what she need to do, and roll out. She chooses to fail by worrying about someone else. I agreed why should he fear violence against him because she uncomfortable. TF Being an adult means doing things that are uncomfortable. Example a job interview she not gonna get a JOB cuz its uncomfortable get he fuck outta here suck it up and dress your ugly ass out and play ball.....Besides let me let you in on a secret you don't have nothing he wants...What you gonna do when you find out the girl in the next locker is me. IM GAY!!!!!!! I LIKE WHAT U HAVE LIL CHURCH GURL!!!!! GROW UP, BROADEN YOUR MIND, WORRY ABOUT ONLY YOU, DONT LOOK, AND REALIZE THERES MORE SCARIER THINGS THAN A SEEING A DICK (and I think they're really ugly)
ReplyDeleteI think people are all for others feeling comfortable in the skin they're in, but the problem with the trans community is they want everyone to compromise to meet their needs. Trans in secondary school shower stalls and locker rooms and competing against real females in competitive sports are taking away the rights from bio-females. We ( bio-females)don't have a say, and it's not fair. You can "feel/identify" as a woman but you're not. By trying to force bio-females to accept trans women will only lead to resentment. Next, female competitive sports will be dominated by intersex and transgendered athletes, there will be no bio-females able to compete ( which means no college scholarships to play sports). It's not fair or right.
DeleteI understand your points, but you do realise there are so few trans people in society that do change their physical bodies to match their identity that the future you predict is highly unlikely. I'm not counting intersex people here, as their experience tends to be different that trans people in the sense that it's normally either "dealt" with early in the childhood, or by the time they found out, they're already happy enough to carry on as they are or they then do something about the situation.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was pre-op, I didn't want to show off what I had, and I think you'll find that is the norm for most pre-op trans people. I don't even like communal showers now in changing areas, and the only time I do use them is when I go swimming, but then I'm not completely naked then (I have my swimming costume on in case anyone hadn't guessed).
The girl in this storyis being incredibly childish as like countless others have said, there's not even a trans person in her school (to her knowledge anyway), so it sounds like she's kicking up a fuss for no good reason, and it sounds like the arguments are coming from her parents anyway.
Ask yourself if you we're in the same situation what you would do? Would you want all the attention of this or would you just want to get on with things. Then ask yourself why anyone else wouldn't just want to get on with things either. If something doesn't make logical sense, then it probably isnt' true - canabilised that from Judge Judy, she phrased it somewhat similarly.
She already fails at life so failing out of school won't be as bad
ReplyDelete