The 16-year-old boy identifies as gender non-conforming, often puts on makeup

Sep 3, 2014 12:11 GMT  ·  By
Gender non-conforming teenager accuses the Department of Motor Vehicles in South Carolina, US, of having discriminated against him
   Gender non-conforming teenager accuses the Department of Motor Vehicles in South Carolina, US, of having discriminated against him

This past Tuesday, a family living in South Carolina, US, sued the state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV, for short). The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 16-year-old Chase Culpepper, whom the DMV allegedly discriminated against.

The entire conundrum began a few months ago, on March 3, when 16-year-old Chase Culpepper visited the South Carolina Department of Motor vehicles hoping to have his driver's license photo taken.

The boy had already passed his driving test, and did not expect to have any trouble actually obtaining his license. However, he soon found that the folks in charge of running the Department had a few surprises in store.

At this point, some explanations are in order. As detailed by the Los Angeles Times, 16-year-old Culpepper identifies as gender non-conforming. What this means is that he does not act or look as expected of boys in this day and age.

More precisely, this teenager often puts on makeup, and even wears girls' clothes. He sees nothing wrong with it, and neither does his mother or the rest of his family. It's his way of expressing himself, and nobody should try and alter his appearance.

As it turns out, Department of Motor Vehicles officials don't really get gender non-conformity. Hence the fact that they refused to take Chase Culpepper's driver's license photo unless he agreed to first remove his makeup.

Their argument was that the boy's decision to wear makeup was no more and no less than an attempt to disguise his appearance. Otherwise put, they accused the teenager of trying to hide the fact that he was a male, the same source informs.

The boy eventually agreed to remove his makeup, and had his driver's license photo taken. He has now changed his mind, and wants the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles to let him sit for another photo shoot and have his license replaced with a new one showing him wearing makeup.

Thus, the lawsuit filed by the boy's mother this past Tuesday boils down to having a court of law twist the state's Department of Motor Vehicles arm into allowing the teenager to wear whatever he might fancy when having his driver's license photo taken.

Together with New York-based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Chase Culpepper's mother is convinced that, when treating her child the way they did, Department officials did no more and no less than discriminate against him based on his appearance and life choices.

“Chase is entitled to be himself and to express his gender non-conformity without interference from the South Carolina DMV,” said Michael Silverman with Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. Furthermore, “It is not the role of the DMV or any government agency or employee to decide how men and women should look.”