TACLOBAN CITY – A 17-year-old transwoman expressed gratitude to her school for allowing her to wear a female school uniform.
Sessy Maravillo, a senior high school student of Leyte National High School (LNHS), this city, said that with the increasing number of members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) in the community, the uniform for transwomen and other members of the said group has been an added concern.
“In my case, I am very much blessed and grateful at the same time for being in a school that totally accepts LGBTQIA+ members of the society,” she said.
She added that it gives her comfort as a member of the LGBTQIA+ and that she also wants others to feel the same way as she feels, that is, she shared, “the acceptance, freedom, love, and above all, the respect.”
“I feel the strong and warm support of my school, especially the love of my teachers and their strong regard towards the gender that I have,” she added.
She also hopes that other schools will also be gender-friendly in terms of wearing uniforms, saying, “It does not only intend to help in amplifying gender acceptance in our society, but as well as helping our fellowmen to build strong confidence within them.”
Maravillo likewise pushed for the adoption of gender-neutral uniforms as a significant and positive step toward a more compassionate society.
“We should always remember that forcing clothes on children or students won’t make a school better, but a uniform combined with reforms can,” explained Maravillo. Finally, she believes that if society wants to practice inclusivity, then it must allow the freedom of choice. By Marie Tonette Marticio (EV Mail September 19-25, 2022 issue)
