My high school punished me for saying a male shouldn’t be allowed to watch me undress 

My high school punished when I spoke up and said a male shouldn’t be allowed to watch me undress. The school didn’t care that this made me uncomfortable.

Blake Allen is a freshman at Randolph Union High School in Randolph, Vermont.

I was upset after the incident and called my mom to tell her about it. She and several other parents called the school administrators to express concerns about the male student being in the girls’ locker room. Not only did school officials make no attempt to provide us with any support or a workable solution, they made me the bad guy for saying that a teenage male shouldn’t be allowed to watch us girls undress.  Shouldn’t every girl be taught to speak out to protect herself from situations where she hasn’t given consent — and be listened to by those in a position to help? If something feels off, trust your gut? Not at my high school. If you don’t comply with the school’s preferred gender identity policy, you’re the bad guy. For expressing true, commonsense, biological facts — boys and girls are different and must respect each other’s bodily privacy — I was punished.  The school began an investigation into the comments I made in class and banned our entire girls’ volleyball team from using the girls’ locker room. The co-principals notified me that I was found guilty of harassment and bullying of "a student on the basis of the targeted student’s gender identity." As punishment, school officials told me I must take part in a "restorative justice circle" with the equity coordinator, submit a "reflective essay," and serve out-of-school suspension. 

 So, with the legal assistance of Alliance Defending Freedom, I sued the co-principals and Orange Southwest School District officials. On the same day that we filed suit, the superintendent rescinded the disciplinary actions against me.