Girl Beaten for Having "Boy's Name"

What's in a name? A 12-year-old girl at Hernando Middle School in Mississippi was beaten by five fellow students -- reportedly because they said her name, Randi, was "a boy name."

"They started talking about me like I was a man," she told local news station WREG. "That I shouldn't be in this world. And my name was a boy name." The four girls and a boy surrounded her after a Fellowship of Christian Students meeting, and, she said, kicked her in the rib and leg, hit her in the face, sat on her, pushed her face into the floor, and threw her onto a cafeteria table.

Apparently, the incident was caught on surveillance camera, but in order to maintain student privacy, the film has not been released. A school administrator issued a statement, said WREG, that "fighting is not tolerated and that disciplinary action will be taken to the fullest extent of the law." No charges were filed, however, because the police were not called. Whether the attack was an isolated incident or part of ongoing bullying remains unknown.

The student in question was not said to be LGBT -- but whether she is or not doesn't matter. She was beaten because she was perceived to be in some way not conforming to her gender. That is yet another reason schools need to include discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in diversity and anti-bullying programs. It is not just LGBT students at risk, but potentially others as well. Students, teachers, and staff must learn that even characteristics some people might view as "deviant" or "sinful" are still no excuse for violence and bullying.

The message clearly needs to spread throughout the state. A high school football player in Mendenhall, Mississippi, was kicked him off the team several weeks ago for wearing pink cleats in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. He was reinstated to the team yesterday, but only after filing a lawsuit.

Earlier this year, Fulton, Mississippi high school student Constance McMillen fought a celebrated case to bring another girl to the prom. And in October 2009, an out lesbian teen in Wesson, Mississippi, Ceara Sturgis, challenged her school when it said she could not have her yearbook photo taken wearing a tuxedo.

The youth-led Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition is working to change policies and minds to make schools safer for all students in the state. They -- and national organizations such as GLSEN -- have a tough road ahead. Federal legislation such as the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Nondiscrimination Act would help send the message that schools must do more to put an end to discrimination, harassment, and bullying on the basis of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

Photo credit: Tom Chambers