Freed Not Clipped

by CARVEL COLLINS ACABAL

When I was little, I would clip the wings of butterflies with my little fingers so they couldn't fly away and had to stay with me. As I grew older, I realized wings are not meant to be clipped; they are meant to fly.

In the matter of captivity, two things come to mind: (1) A person denied of his rights; and (2) a person enslaved by a judgmental society to express his true self.

Along with the excitement of the return of face-to-face classes is the awakened emotions of the Filipinos on the hot issue of a 17-year-old transgender student in Tacloban City who was allowed to wear a uniform of her choice at the start of the academic year. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and others (LGBTQ+) celebrated the achievement and boasted of such transformation. However, it also quickly subsided when other academic institutions and Filipinos expressed their strong opposition, something sad and appalling.

The Philippine educational system is infamous for its strict school uniform policies. For years, it has not been up for discussion until recently, when LGBTQ+ students expressed their struggles to unfurl their true selves in schools. As the world change, the country is still clouded by the past and has not been in rhythm with today's transformations. Regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIE), students should be free to choose the uniform they find safe, comfortable, and liberating to wear.

It is not that we don't have respect for school policies, as it is not said to abolish the uniform system. But how difficult is it to give them a chance to sleep at night without the anxiety that tomorrow or the following day, they must hide who they are to prevent societal ridicule and discrimination?

Schools should be safe and enabling spaces for everyone. However, in the Philippines, LGBTQ+ students describe their schooling experience as marred by pressure, bullying, and sometimes physical or sexual assault for expressing their gender identity.

These experiences not only trampled the students' right to equality, education, and freedom of expression but also created deep and lasting impacts on their mental well-being.

The world is very hypocritical. We are very fascinated by the idea of freedom and education for all. But, many of our LGBTQ+ students experience emotional distress, depression, and other mental health issues just for wearing a uniform their heart desires. Like all of us, they just want to study, learn, and eventually contribute to society. But, the amount of hatred and humiliation received puts them in the position to skip classes and, worst, drop out entirely. Schools are made to cultivate dreams, not wilt and perish.

The era when girls could only wear skirts and boys had to wear trousers has been left behind and has passed into history. Whether boys wear skirts or girls wear pants doesn't affect their academic performance. It has no educational value. Allowing students to wear gender-neutral uniforms would instead push them to be more inspired, empowered, and progressive in their chosen academic pursuits.

In this society, we don't have the right to humiliate and discriminate against people just because they're not wearing clothes fitting in with the conventional ideas of being male or female. LGBTQ+ students shouldn't be refused entry to school grounds, kicked out of class, or publicly reprimanded and shamed for wearing the uniforms of their choice. Going to school should be fun and exciting, not fearful and miserable.

School uniforms shouldn't promote conformity over individuality. It shouldn't impair students' rights or cause physical and psychological injuries. For the right to education to have meaning for all students, teachers, administrators, and lawmakers need to work with LGBTQ+ advocates to ensure that schools do not clip their students' wings. But free them so they can spread it widely and fly high enough toward a more diverse, inclusive, and transformative future.