14 DAY TRIAL // A five-year-old boy who likes to wear princess dresses and heeled shoes was booted from a church-run after-school club in the U.K. because he was allegedly “confusing” the other children with his choice of attire.
Romeo Clarke, from Rugby, Warwickshire, has attended St Marie’s Catholic Primary School and its after-school program since September, but three weeks ago, the school's staff told his mother Georgina Clarke that the boy was no longer welcome at the playground unless he wears clothes that match his gender.
The boy, who has three older sisters, has developed a fascination with princess dresses and the color pink. He has amassed an impressive collection of girls’ clothes, which includes around 100 gowns and eight pairs of heeled shoes he usually wears after school. He also likes to paint his nails, straighten his hair and play with Barbie dolls.
Romeo's parents are OK with his choice of clothes, and say that “he's just a boy who loves dresses,” but the organizers of the after-school club deemed his preference “upsetting and confusing” to other kids and decided to give him the boot.
The boy's shocked mother Georgina has filed a complaint with Rugby Christian Fellowship Church that runs the playgroup, claiming they are discriminating against her son.
“I was so cross when I was told he couldn’t wear dresses I was speechless. All I could ask was why,” she said, according to Daily Mail. “Wearing the dress is his choice and if wearing it makes him happy it’s fine with me. He’s normal but because he has three big sisters, he likes wearing dresses. What’s wrong with that?”
The 36-year-old woman says she encourages Romeo's boy side too, but she is very proud of her son and his courage to express his personality. She also mentions that she spoke to other parents and asked them if Romeo's attire upset them or their children in any way, and apparently, they didn't seem bothered at all.
On the other hand, the head of the after-school program, Bex Venable, defended the school's decision saying that Romeo was simply “asked to wear clothing of the gender stated on his registration form, which states male.” She also explained that the request is no different from what the boy is asked to do in classes, where he has to wear a boy’s uniform.
Mrs. Clarke paid the school £1 ($1.69/€1.22) a week for Romeo to attend Buzz Children’s Club, which runs every Wednesday from 4.30-6pm.