Blogger Carolyn Castiglia at Babble’s Strollerderby has a more in-depth commentary on the incident. She asks whether “Gender Bender” day is good or bad for transgender and other gender non-conforming students:
Contrary to what you might think, many people say “Gender Bender” days at school actually harm students who don’t conform to traditional gender-roles, rather than help them feel solidarity with their classmates.
Andy at Towleroad wrote a post on this very subject back in September, quoting Julie (née John) Nemecek, “a professor who made headlines for being fired by Spring Arbor University after saying she was going to become a woman.” In an email to the principal of Jackson High School in Michigan, Nemecek wrote, “I think it demeans students that may be wrestling with issues of gender identity and puts them at risk. They’re already at greater risk — bullying, the suicide rate is very high because of intolerance either at home or school,” adding, “Would you even consider having a ‘Disabled Day’ where students pick a disability to mimic all day?”