Members of Fresno’s community respond to a recent article published in the April 22nd edition of the Fresno Bee
Original Article: Girl who would be a prom king loses
Good for Fresno High
The April 22 article about the transgender person at Fresno High School running for prom king was very disappointing. It seems the media was unhappy with being shut out of the proceedings and focused on her loss, as reflected in the headline, rather than the fact that she was able to run at all in her chosen gender.
Transgender people are born with brains that do not match their anatomical gender — this is medical fact. To participate in the election, she was forced to choose one of the two genders recognized by our binary-system society. The banished media focused on negative comments by ill-informed parents and students, rather than presenting a more balanced sample.
While I commend Fresno High School for allowing Cinthia Covarrubias’ participation in the gender she feels most comfortable in, it would have been even better to use this opportunity to educate students and parents about what it means to be transgender.
Sue Stone, M.D.
Fresno
Tolerance and respect
Thank you for the story [April 22] about Cinthia Covarrubias, the transgender student nominated to be prom king. It is clear from her reaction that she was not doing this for attention.
It takes a strong person to stand by her convictions, especially at such a vulnerable age. She has the courage of her convictions and I applaud her and her school for allowing her to stand by those convictions. The argument that this may be unfair to the other students is not valid. She got enough votes to be nominated; that demonstrates the support of her peers.
One parent argued that this goes against "tradition." There was also a time when a biracial couple at the prom broke tradition. If we let "tradition" be the standard, what a limited world we would live in. I prefer a world in which such a brave person can help me broaden my views. I was moved and proud that many Fresno High School students and staff were supportive of Ms. Covarrubias. I hope this generation will teach the rest of us something about tolerance and respect.
Tami Ramage
Clovis
Ashamed
Denny Boyles and the Bee should be ashamed for the slant of prejudice and intolerance that their article detailing a Fresno High transgender student rested on.
According to the Associated Press, Cinthia’s candidacy may be the first such case in U.S. history. Usually Fresno media leaps to point out a Fresnan is first in anything, but not here.
The article stated that Cinthia “considers herself transgender” as if the debate is open. Worst of all, since Cinthia wanted to enjoy her prom and not talk to the press, since school officials asked the press to let her be, since most students wouldn’t give a comment, this reporter found it necessary to locate two prejudiced people and share their comments.
A parent, Deana Giles, said she doesn’t “have a problem with her sexual identity” then added “but why does she have to make things awkward for the other kids?” I’m assuming she’s referring to the “normal” ones, like Michael Martin, who shared the revelatory comment “It’s creepy.” Maybe all of us who don’t meet the requirements of “normal” should stay home behind locked doors. A problem for the Bee though, because who then would all these “normal” people spew hate speech on?
Chris Jarvis
Fresno
Additional articles of interest:
In Fresno, a transgender student runs for prom king
Transgender candidate for prom king makes her mark
