Source: AAP via Sydney Morning Herald, news.com.au
One of Brisbane's most prestigious all-boy schools says its willing to debate a ban on gay students taking same-sex partners instead of girls to the senior formal.
The Anglican Church Grammar School, or Churchie, was in defence mode after several students made it known they want to escort boyfriends to the June 19 formal. The school is insisting they take a member of the opposite sex.
Churchie headmaster Jonathan Hensman said none of the students had approached him directly, but a staff member had raised the issue on their behalf.
"The senior dinner dance is an opportunity for our young men to escort a young woman in a formal school environment," Mr Hensman said.
"We don't intend to change our practice. As well as being a social occasion, it's an education forum and to that end the school decides what is appropriate behaviour and what is not," Hensman told news.com.au.
Under current policy, the young men may only attend the ball with a female partner.
Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) national spokeswoman Shelley Argent said the policy was "unfortunate" and it was about time schools moved into the modern era.
"Schools need to put an end to this discrimination," Ms Argent told AAP.
"They need to wake up and understand that homosexuality is not going away. I think that schools and society in general need to get in step."
Ms Argent, who founded the Brisbane arm of PFLAG in support of her son, said gay people were coming out earlier than in the past.
"People are coming out younger and younger," she said.
"That is because of education .... and understanding there is nothing wrong with them. Homosexuality is a natural sexual orientation; it is not an illness, they have done nothing wrong, it is just that they are in a minority group."
Hensman said the policy had never been challenged before - it had always been the tradition that boys took girls to their matriculation dance.
"The school formal has been around for many, many years. It has been a wonderful occasion for the boys and the tradition with that has been for the boys to take a girl," Mr Hensman told AAP.
"It's important that they know how to carry themselves in that environment, to know how to behave, their demeanour is very much part of their education."
"Not all students take their girlfriends. Some take a female friend. It's about protocols and decorums," he said.
But Mr Hensman said if any of Churchie's seniors approached him formally, he would consider taking the request to the school council. He encouraged those concerned to raise the issue in writing so he could refer it to the school council for debate.
State schools made their own decisions on guidelines for school formals, a Queensland Education spokesman said.
Queensland's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Susan Booth said sexuality discrimination was unlawful, and that applied to private and public schools as well as other organisations.
However, Churchie is not alone in its stand against same-sex couples attending school formals, with Queensland Catholic Education Executive Director Mike Byrne saying their schools would not allow it either.
Queensland University of Technology School of Justice lecturer Dr Angela Dwyer said Churchie's stand on the issue of same-sex formal partners would be "devastating" to those involved.
"We're talking about someone's identity here. The way that they feel and the way that they express themselves is basically being squashed by the school," said Dr
Dwyer, who is writing a research paper on "How queer young people are policed".
Another expert on sexuality and education, Iain Hay from the University of Canberra, said it would be very stressful for gay students prepared to come out in front of their peers, to then be told it was "inappropriate".
Full article: Gay student partners banned from dance | Sydney Morning Herald (AAP)
Anglican Church Grammar School bans gay partners at formal | NEWS.com.au