Braintree High Ditching Gendered Graduation Gowns
BRAINTREE, MA — In an effort to be more inclusive to transgender and non-binary students, Braintree High School has ditched using different colors by gender for graduation ceremonies and will instead have all students wear the same color.
Beginning with the 2021 commencement, all graduating seniors will wear blue caps and gowns with white accents, following a 6-1 vote from the school committee Monday night. School Committee vice Chair Cyril Chafe was the lone member to vote against the change.
The previous tradition for Braintree High School commencement ceremonies was that boys would wear blue gowns and girls would wear white. But Jim Lee, the assistant superintendent, said conversations about ditching the gendered colors have been ongoing for a number of years.
More pressure to make a change came about last year when the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Braintree school officials criticizing the district for assigning different-colored gowns to graduating high school students based on gender.
"This situation leaves transgender and non-binary students with the option only of choosing between two colors, each of which is associated with a binary gender identity," the letter from January 2020 read. "It also leaves transgender and non-binary students at risk of harassment or bullying if they choose the color that other students feel is not accurately associated with their apparent gender."
Two weeks after the district received the ACLU's letter, the school committee created a subcommittee of students, parents and administrators to discuss changing graduation attire. Those changes were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
"The proposal is not a new one," Lee said. "It was work that was done in earnest last year with a large group of people who really explored a number of options on how we make all our students feel welcome at our graduation ceremony."
Though students will all be wearing one color, other traditions will remain. Students can still decorate the top of their graduation cap, as long as messages abide by the student handbook. Students in the military are also allowed to wear their respective branch's cords or sash during commencement.
But as far as traditions go, several school committee members said they are proud to start a new one valuing inclusiveness.
"I'm very glad this issue can finally be resolved through compassiona and a deeper understand of gender and transgender experiences," said committee member Kelly Cobb-Lemire. "I'm glad that keeping the status quo is no longer a reasonable consideration for this year. This is not about breaking tradition. It's about starting a new one."
"For some, it's a significant change, but I'm hopeful the understanding is there as to the spirit of inclusion we’re hoping to promote with this policy," member Jennifer Dolan said.
This article originally appeared on the Braintree Patch
