Alabama student’s picture left out of high school yearbook for wearing a tuxedo rather than a drape

LGBTQ student’s picture is left out of Alabama high school yearbook because she wore a tuxedo instead of a dress for her senior portrait

  • Springville high school student Holley Gerelds said the school’s photographer let her take her senior portrait with a tux instead of a dress
  • But when she received her yearbook, she saw ‘Not Pictured’ next to her name
  • Gerelds self identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community 
  • The school district’s superintendent Mike Howard said the high school’s senior pictures ‘were taken in accordance with long-standing school guidelines’ 
  • He also said the school district is ‘in the process of reevaluating those guidelines to consider what changes, if any, need to be made’

An Alabama high school’s administrators are facing criticism for keeping an LGBT student’s portrait out of their latest yearbook because she chose to wear a tuxedo for her picture instead of a dress.

Springville High School senior Holley Gerelds told WVTM-TV she proudly identifies as a member of the LGBT community and just wanted to be herself in her senior picture.

She said the school’s photographer told her it was OK for her to wear the formal sleek, black attire – complete with a white, button-up shirt and a bow tie.

‘I said, “Can I please wear the tux?” It’s what I’m more comfortable in. I feel like if I was to wear the drape, it’s not me and kind of humiliating,’ Gerelds said.

Springville high school student Holley Gerelds said the school’s photographer let her take her senior portrait with a tux instead of a dress

Gerelds said the school's photographer told her it was OK for her to wear the formal sleek, black attire - complete with a white, button-up shirt and a bow tie

Gerelds said the school’s photographer told her it was OK for her to wear the formal sleek, black attire – complete with a white, button-up shirt and a bow tie

But when Gerelds received her yearbook, she saw 'Not Pictured' next to her name

But when Gerelds received her yearbook, she saw ‘Not Pictured’ next to her name

When Gerelds received her senior yearbook, she wasn’t surprised to find the words ‘Not Pictured’ printed next to her name where her photo should have appeared.

‘I hate to say it, but I’m used to it. I saw it coming,’ Gerelds said. ‘I honestly just laughed… I feel like I did nothing wrong. I paid. I was on time.’

Scrutinizing gender norms and stifling political expression in yearbook photos is a common practice for grade school administrators across the U.S.

In 2014, Utah’s Wasatch High School went so far as to Photoshop sleeves on female students who went sleeveless for their senior pictures, according to the Washington Post.

St. Claire County Schools superintendent Mike Howard said Springville high school's senior pictures 'were taken in accordance with long-standing school guidelines'

St. Claire County Schools superintendent Mike Howard said Springville high school’s senior pictures ‘were taken in accordance with long-standing school guidelines’ 

Last year, Christ the King High School student Malcolm Xavier Combs of New York City, was told he couldn’t wear a senior sweater with the name Malcolm X etched on the back, even though it’s his first name and middle initial.

The school’s assistant principal said the legendary civil rights leader Malcolm X is a controversial figure with whom Combs doesn’t want to be associated.

Superintendent Mike Howard also noted that the school district is 'in the process of reevaluating its guidelines to consider what changes, if any, need to be made'

Superintendent Mike Howard also noted that the school district is ‘in the process of reevaluating its guidelines to consider what changes, if any, need to be made’

St. Claire County Schools superintendent Mike Howard said Springville high school’s senior pictures ‘were taken in accordance with long-standing school guidelines,’ but noted that the school district is ‘in the process of reevaluating those guidelines to consider what changes, if any, need to be made.’

‘I can confirm that the composite photograph of the Springville High School Class of 2019 will include all students that participated in the senior portrait process, regardless of their choice of attire,’ Howard continued. ‘In addition, we are reprinting a page of Springville High School’s recent yearbook to correct the misspelling of a student’s name and to include all students, regardless of their choice of attire.’

Gerelds said she wants to shed light on the issue of discrimination at her school to prevent future students from going through what she and others have had to endure. 

‘There’s another girl just like me that wants to wear a tux and she gets to wear a tux or another boy like me or anybody who identifies as anything in the world, that they get to wear what they want. That’s what I want,’ she said. 

‘There’s another girl just like me that wants to wear a tux and she gets to wear a tux or another boy like me or anybody who identifies as anything in the world, that they get to wear what they want. That’s what I want,’ she said. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk