Discrimination?

[Ibby]

Originally Posted by Cloud

ewwww, I gotta dance with gurrls? They have cooties!

What are, you 8 years old?

Sorry, but this is just ridiculous. Be an adult and learn to be polite to the other half of the human race.

I've already been over this. I dont personally have any problem dancing with girls as such - in fact, in my PE class, there're quite a few more girls I'd like to dance with than boys - but I think it's ridiculous and wrong to make it a RULE that you HAVE to dance with the opposite sex.

[Sheldonrs]

Originally Posted by Ibram

I've already been over this. I dont personally have any problem dancing with girls as such - in fact, in my PE class, there're quite a few more girls I'd like to dance with than boys - but I think it's ridiculous and wrong to make it a RULE that you HAVE to dance with the opposite sex.

I always thought it was a stupid irony that school is supposed to prepare you for life but goes out of it's way to make it the least like real life as possible.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Sheldonrs

I always thought it was a stupid irony that school is supposed to prepare you for life but goes out of it's way to make it the least like real life as possible.

Who said it's supposed to prepare you for life? It's supposed to give you basic knowledge that will make you useful to society and keep you someplace where your folks won't have to keep track of you until you're old enough to move into their basement.

[Sheldonrs]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Who said it's supposed to prepare you for life? It's supposed to give you basic knowledge that will make you useful to society and keep you someplace where your folks won't have to keep track of you until you're old enough to move into their basement.

In that case it failed miserably. Most of what I know I learned AFTER school.
And anything I learned in school I forgot. I DO remember the humiliation and abuse though.

[Cloud]

Originally Posted by Ibram

I've already been over this. I dont personally have any problem dancing with girls as such - in fact, in my PE class, there're quite a few more girls I'd like to dance with than boys - but I think it's ridiculous and wrong to make it a RULE that you HAVE to dance with the opposite sex.

if you don't sound like an 8 year old boy, then you sound like a whining misogynist. Either way, it's a very unappealing quality. In my opinion, you should concentrate your efforts on getting along with people, rather than disruptive divisiveness.

I'm certainly extremely tired of hearing you snivel about it.

Why not take a different tack and learn to dance like a dream, and make everyone, male and female, squeal with happiness? Be a fabulous gay man who has better social skills than the clueless hets.

[Hime]

Originally Posted by Cloud

if you don't sound like an 8 year old boy, then you sound like a whining misogynist. Either way, it's a very unappealing quality. In my opinion, you should concentrate your efforts on getting along with people, rather than disruptive divisiveness.

I'm certainly extremely tired of hearing you snivel about it.

Why not take a different tack and learn to dance like a dream, and make everyone, male and female, squeal with happiness? Be a fabulous gay man who has better social skills than the clueless hets.

I have to say, this post bugs me. Gay men shouldn't be expected to be "fabulous," and there is very little to be gained from it except for people's polite toleration, which IMO isn't really worth much. A person growing up in a society that does not provide him with the same basic civil rights as everyone else shouldn't be expected to just "get along" with people.

As to this particular issue, it is a stupid rule. As a dancer, I don't see dance as necessarily referring to sexual partnership -- for instance, one of the most famous tango pairs is a brother and sister -- but I believe that the policy itself is making that connection. If the person who made the rule saw no connection between dance and sex, then why would they need to specify the sex of the participants?

I think that this is an issue worth raising, to a certain extent, although not worth suing over or getting suspended for. Maybe an op-ed piece or letter in the school paper would be appropriate.

[Cloud]

you're right, gay men shouldn't have to be "fabulous"--I don't believe that, but the comment was meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek antidote to his pathetic mysoginist whining.

Gay men SHOULD, however, learn to deal in social situations with women.

[bluecuracao]

Originally Posted by Cloud

Gay men SHOULD, however, learn to deal in social situations with women.

I don't understand where you're coming from with this statement, Cloud. Is it because you think gay men in general are lacking in this particular social skill?

In my experience, the opposite is too often true--many straight people should learn to deal in social situations with gay men and women.

This stupid rule in Ibram's school may not seem like a big deal to most of you, especially if you're straight, because it seems "normal" to you, from your perspective. But it's the wrong environment for kids who are discovering their true identities, and are forced to conform to rules that imply that they are "not normal." Actually, it's wrong for all kids, regardless of sexual identity, because they all are being taught the same message.