# Girl suspended for wearing "Barbie is a Lesbian" t-shirt to school **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 20, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245 "2003-06-20T18:54:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/41 "2003-06-20T23:10:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*So, wait, I’m a Nazi because I wore a uniform to school? \*\* I’m thinking he might settle for “Hitler Youth”…but yeah. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/42 "2003-06-20T23:12:26Z")
**buttonjockey** I actually strongly advocate school uniforms, and it may surprise you to find out that I’m not a Nazi. That’s a hijack of this thread though - this girl’s school did not have a uniform policy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/43 "2003-06-20T23:18:50Z")
I think **buttonjockey308** was just looking for an excuse to post a George Carlin quote. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/44 "2003-06-20T23:51:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by beagledave \* > \*\*I’m thinking he might settle for “Hitler Youth”…but yeah. \*\* Damn. I knew I had my funny little mustache for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/45 "2003-06-21T00:28:16Z")
Hmmmmm. I’m wondering what those of you who think that kids should be able to wear pretty much they want to school think about the kids in my home state, South Carolina, who have been sent home or suspended for wearing t-shirts with the Confederate flag on them? Or for wearing t-shirts with guns on them? Those are pretty standard bans around here (and rules that I find completely reasonable). Do you find those rules unreasonable? ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/46 "2003-06-21T00:30:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slacker \* > **You actually do the little quotey motions with your fingers as you post, don’t you?** Yeah, I do… what do _you_ type with? 😉 > [@](#): > > **So you think kids should be able to wear whatever they want to to school?** Not even close. What I think is that a shirt saying “Barbie is a lesbian” is not going to cause a disruption, and that “disruptive” in a dress code actually tends to mean “offensive to the administration” in practice. You claimed that the shirt was likely to cause a disruption, and I see you’ve avoided explaining that. Do you still think students will be unable to focus on schoolwork when they’re in the same room as that shirt? A shirt that says “Barbie is a lesbian”, or “I (heart) your mom”, or even [“I enjoy drinking beer”](http://store.theonion.com/cgi-bin/store/EDCstore.pl?user_action=list&category=Apparel;Slogan+T-Shirts;I+enjoy+drinking+beer.+T-Shirt) is not disruptive. The novelty wears off after about two minutes. I’ve been 14, I’ve attended high school, and I give kids a little more credit than you seem to. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/91b2a8/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/47 "2003-06-21T00:31:56Z")
I’m amused to hear people suggest that the girl’s shirt caused (or would inevitably have caused) a disruption. A high school classmate of mine wore a series of shirts proclaiming him to be gay. I don’t remember anything remotely resembling a disruption resulting from his shirts. And even Archie Bunker’s Queens was more enlightened than our bleak, working-class suburb. The fact that so many seem to simply assume a shirt like this would cause a disruption shows, I think, a complete lack of any faith in young peoples’ ability to conduct themselves in a civilized and dignified manner. Has there ever been a case of a riot, or other large-scale disruption, occurring because of a tee-shirt? Kids will inevitably start whispering instead of listening to their teacher? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it’s hardly grounds for kicking someone out. People whisper. ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/48 "2003-06-21T00:37:09Z")
What needs to be seen is how the rule has been enforced before. 1. The beads she was told to remove from her hair. What was the rationale? This strikes me as much easier to build a case on, since the odds of some rainbow beads being truly disruptive in school are slim. 2. Other t-shirt enforcements at the school. If kids are running around the school with “Straight Pride” t-shirts on and receiving no punishment at all, a case for discrimination gets a real boost. So much of this hinges on the fine details we’re not getting at the moment. Hopefully we will as this procedes. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/49 "2003-06-21T00:59:50Z")
So you’re suggesting a better comparison is “Barbie likes blondes”? It says who she likes, but not what she likes to do to them. Put like that the distinction is clearer… (though imperfect - there’s nothing blondes can or can’t do in bed specifically) ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/50 "2003-06-21T01:01:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\ ***Waverly** , while I do see your point, “homosexual” and related terms are, despite the syllable, not considered by the people who, after all, wear them, to be about sexuality quite so much as about identity – sex is only a minor component, albeit an important one, of what goes into a marriage or romance, and identifying as “gay” or “Lesbian” is not saying, “I want to boink another boy/girl” quite so much as it is, “I am someone who is interested in/involved in a romantic relationship, which may or may not include sex at the moment, with another boy/girl.” Just my perspective, from what I’ve seen and read; YMMV. \*\* Just to clarify, I feel the same way about heterosexual relationships. I think we are fooling ourselves if we do not acknowledge that our attraction to others is a symptom of biological, hardwired drives. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/51 "2003-06-21T01:36:32Z")
A couple of relevant points…both gleaned from [here](http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/living/education/3146637.htm) 1. It’s not just mean conservatives who wish to regulate this kind of clothing. Banning a “Straight Pride” shirt was done out of concern for offending gay or bisexual students at this particular school. 2. The Tinker case, while it does grant some First Amendment expression rights…does not give a blank check for wearing or saying “anything” in schools. > [@](#): > > “The court specifically indicated that if the circumstances change, the wearing of the shirt could be prohibited,” Babbitt continued. “Those circumstances would include a reasonable belief that a ‘substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities’ may ensue from the wearing of the Straight Pride shirt or any other clothing.” Replace “Straight Pride shirt” with “Lesbian Barbie shirt”…and that is apparently the vague line in the sand. The tough thing is defining what is “disruptive” or “interfering” in terms of clothing. I’ve said it in previous threads and I’ll say it here…it’s much easier (and I think fairer) to **proscribe** a school uniform (by uniform…I don’t necessarily mean “uniform” with emblems etc.) …then to have to constantly update/modify/get sued/modify again, a list of **prohibited** clothing. Even “disruption” clauses are problematic. Are spaghetti strap tops on girls OK for you? Well in many schools they’re not. How about bare midriffs? Can I wear gang colors if they happen to **also** be the colors of pro sports teams? Are mohawk haircuts disruptive? Piercings? LOTS of piercings? What about for junior high or grade school kids (don’t laugh too much…) Are decisions about “disruptiveness” culturally or racially influenced? I think that schools who think that they can stay ahead of the curve…or even “not fall too far behind on the curve” when it comes to deciding what to ban…are fooling themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/52 "2003-06-21T02:13:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr2001 \* > \*\*A shirt that says “Barbie is a lesbian”, or “I (heart) your mom”, or even [“I enjoy drinking beer”](http://store.theonion.com/cgi-bin/store/EDCstore.pl?user_action=list&category=Apparel;Slogan+T-Shirts;I+enjoy+drinking+beer.+T-Shirt) is not disruptive. The novelty wears off after about two minutes. I’ve been 14, I’ve attended high school, and I give kids a little more credit than you seem to. \*\* Yeah, you’ve got a point there. I don’t disagree with the school for not allowing the shirt (though the severity of the punishment may be a bit off), but I concede that she wouldn’t have likely caused that big of a stink with it. It’s hard to form opinions based on news clips. 😃 Good points though, I understand where you’re coming from. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/53 "2003-06-21T02:27:51Z")
GMR…No. I don’t think that. SciFi…Actually, I’ve never found school uniforms to my liking. I dislike the idea for many reasons, not the least of which is the thought that dressing people alike to ‘keep the peace’ for my money, the sooner kids learn that free speech means that someone will be offended, the less likely they are to react violently when they are. Man with the Golden…I just love that line. Carlin is indeed the master. ---
**Author:** ![Qazzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/aeb1de/32.png) [@Qazzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qazzz)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/54 "2003-06-21T02:48:45Z")
Has anyone mentioned that a suspension, lawsuit, and continuing news coverage at the school, involving friends, teachers, and community members is a bit more disruptive than allowing the girl to wear a T-shirt once every two weeks? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/55 "2003-06-21T03:34:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qazzz \* > \*\*Has anyone mentioned that a suspension, lawsuit, and continuing news coverage at the school, involving friends, teachers, and community members is a bit more disruptive than allowing the girl to wear a T-shirt once every two weeks? \*\* The irony, she is a beautiful thing… ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/56 "2003-06-21T05:10:16Z")
Maybe they’re afraid of getting in trouble with Mattel. If word gets out that Barbie’s a lesbian, what would happen to all of the Ken dolls on the shelf? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/57 "2003-06-21T05:37:58Z")
The fine people of the Straight Dope, and the rest of the world for that matter, never fail to surprise me with their complete disregard for the human status of people under the age of eighteen. I can’t believe that when a bunch of dumbasses disrupt class by harrasing a lesbian (or whatever goes on that is so “disruptive”, which I wager is nothing at all) you’d so willing throw out the freedom of speech of a huge chunk of humanity who cannot vote to save their rights just to keep them from facing some of the turmoil that happens when people have differences, opinions, and individualism. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/58 "2003-06-21T06:02:09Z")
I would have laughed. I mean, that’s an amusing t-shirt. I think the school may have overreacted in suspending her. Send her home to change by all means, if that’s consistent with the prevailing mores of the school–which it may well be. My kid was sent home from high school for wearing a _red_ t-shirt, and it wasn’t even red–it was salmon, with turquoise lettering and a logo and the name “Science Olympiad” in other words a shirt he got at a school-sanctioned extracurricular activity. (Sent home to change, not suspended, BTW, which is what I’d recommend for “Barbie is a Lesbian” also. An excused absence from a class or two.) If someone at that school turned up with one of those disgusting “Makin’ Bacon” t-shirts that show two pigs fucking, would that have required a suspension? Sure ought to. But rainbow beads? 😕 Again, is there some kind of no-beads policy? ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/59 "2003-06-21T06:06:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by even sven \* > **The fine people of the Straight Dope, and the rest of the world for that matter, never fail to surprise me with their complete disregard for the human status of people under the age of eighteen.** For the record, I’m not disregarding her human status because she’s under eighteen, but because she’s in school. She can wear the shirt everywhere else in the world as far as I’m concerned. If the school feels that the apparel is disruptive, I agree that they should be able to disallow it. And while I’m up late anyway – regarding the notion that the people getting disturbed by the shirt should be punished instead of the girl: If you’ve ever managed anything more substantial than what type of cereal you eat for breakfast, you know that occasionally the best way to solve a problem is the simplest way. Does it suck? Yeah, but that’s how it is sometimes. If you need anecdotal evidence just ask the mods here whether it’s easier to close a thread that derailed into a flame war or to warn each user that continues the hijack. Obviously they’ll just close the thread. Is it fair to the OP? Nope - he (or she) had nothing to do with the derail, but he paid the price for the others in order to keep the peace. ---
**Author:** ![G-RAY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@G-RAY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G-RAY)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245/60 "2003-06-21T06:18:22Z")
Barbie is a lesbo? Does Jerry Falwell know about this? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-suspended-for-wearing-barbie-is-a-lesbian-t-shirt-to-school/183245.md?page=4)