A 16-year-old boy has been allowed to wear girl’s clothes and make up at a school in Lanarkshire, despite his mother’s opposition.
Thelma McLean feels Calderside Academy in Blantyre is afraid to act, and thinks her view on the issue has been ignored.
She said: “I really believe this is a phase and I cannot accept it – I just want my son back.
Respect
“I had previously told the school I didn’t want him to go in dressed that way.
“I believe my feelings have not been respected when I said no.
“The school seems to be scared of getting into trouble if they take action”, she said.
Natural
Callum, who is going by the name of Stacie, wears a skirt, nail varnish and women’s underwear to school.
He is being allowed to use a disabled toilet and get changed separately from the other boys for PE.
The schoolboy said: “Now I can dress the way I want. I sound like a girl and look like a girl, so why shouldn’t I dress like a girl, it’s perfectly natural”.
Pupils’ rights
He wants to start taking female hormones next year.
Scottish Government rules say that 16 and 17-year-olds are “entitled” to consent to their own gender treatment, and “this consent cannot be overruled by their parents”.
Mrs McLean said she found Callum wearing high heels, a dress and perfume when he was nine years old.
Des Dickson, from South Lanarkshire Council, said: “The school has a strong ethos of respecting pupils’ rights and it is supporting this pupil and will continue to do so.”
Hormone blocker
In 2011 a ten-year-old boy was allowed to return to school after the summer holidays as a girl because he believed he was born the wrong sex.
The boy’s mother supported his decision, allowed him to dress as a girl and said he would start hormone blocker therapy, the first step to a full sex change, when he turned twelve.