Being a young person in school can be difficult at the best of times. There’s the pressure of having high grades, trying to maintain a personal life during exam season and then there’s the realization that adulthood (and the responsibility that goes with it) is soon approaching. Stressful stuff. But, for transgender student Maria Muniz, things got so much more so when her school, Colégio Pedro II in Brazil, decided to fine her for wearing a skirt to school.
However, thanks to some ingenious thinking by her classmates, Colégio Pedro II may be backtracking. The decision to fine Muniz was made due to the school’s harsh dress code. While the original fine was certainly unfortunate, her classmates took it upon themselves to protest the ruling the only way they felt fit…by wearing skirts to school themselves.
Both boys and girls at the school decided to show up in skirts which caused officials to change their minds. Speaking to Brazilian publication Globo, they say that they are considering relaxing the dress code.
Not only that, but following the protest the school posted an image of the students in their skirts to Twitter which became popular on the site and saw users tweet using the hashtag #VouDeSaia in support, which translates as ‘I’ll Get By’.
Muniz also adds that “for me, wearing a skirt was about expressing my freedom over who I am inside and not how society sees me, I am really happy about the way my classmates supported me and hope it serves as an example to others to feel encouraged to do the right thing. I was always taught at school to accept who you are. I am only trying to live that.” So even if the dress code hasn’t been fully repealed (yet), Muniz’ fine has at least been overturned so it sounds like their protest paid off.
