Virginia girl’s style not feminine enough for Lynchburg Christian school

[cbayer]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/03/26/virginia-girls-toys-not-feminine-enough-for-lynchburg-christian-school/?tid=hp_mm

BY LINDSEY BEVER
March 26 at 3:23 am


Sunnie Kahle, an 8-year-old girl in Virginia has been told that she can not return to her Christian school because she looks like a boy.(Photo courtesy of WDBJ7)

Last week came the story of a boy in Buncombe County, N.C., who got bullied when he showed up at school with a “My Little Pony” bag. His public school told him to lose the bag — which outraged the cybersphere until the school relented.

Apparently, he wasn’t seen as masculine enough.

Now comes the story of a girl apparently thought by her school as not feminine enough.

It happened last month but is just now coming out – everywhere.

more at link

[SirRevolutionary]

1. The fundie school would have preferred to bully the girl in private, so instead they try to pin the

blame on public embarrassment on the grandparents. Sunnie will be much better off leaving that hate-filled "school" and hopefully it'll serve as an educational experience in dealing with fundamentalist mentality.

[cbayer]

3. Agree and the extra added benefit is that this school is going to get a whole

lot more attention than they probably anticipated.

They may have local support, but they are going to take an enormous amount of heat for this.

[SirRevolutionary]

12. Thankfully, it's created a huge backlash for the fundie school already

WSET is a local news agency to the school. Look at the comments on the article http://www.wset.com/story/25061872/little-girl-taken-out-of-christian-school-after-told-shes-too-much-like-a-boy

A great deal of the comments show support for Sunnie and outrage at the school. And a good number of them would likely be locals.

[cbayer]

13. Great links. thanks.

It's hard to defend the school, as one can see from the comments.

[SirRevolutionary]

14. There are posters mentioning how most of the grads from that school

end up going to Liberty University afterwards. So hopefully Sunnie will be spared further exposure to fundie brainwashing in the future.

[atreides1]

2. Religion

Once again a group of narrow minded bigots hide their hatred of anything different, by saying it's God's will...their translation of the will of God!

[cbayer]

4. This school is extreme and I am glad that they are getting some press.

While they do appear to be narrow minded bigots, they in no way represent religion, as you subject line might suggest.

[AnneD]

5. This is what happens....

when people stop using common sense. On the side of public school, the parents can still take their kid to public and work to over turn the judgment, but the little girl can and will be dis-enrolled. I hate to see both obviously sweet kids have their hearts crushed.

[cbayer]

7. She will be better off out of this school, imo.

Hopefully she will go somewhere that will embrace her for who she is.

[AnneD]

8. She is being raised by loving grandparents....

and that is a good start.

[cbayer]

11. And they did the right thing by taking her out immediately.

[Warpy]

6. What the hell is wrong with those people? She's EIGHT

She's a chunky monkey right now, but when she gets that growth spurt, she's likely to be quite a dish. Look at those gorgeous eyes!

[cbayer]

9. Chunky monkey? Likely to become quite a dish?

Sorry, I fail to see how that is much different than the other judgements that are being made. Perhaps she likes the way she is right now?

[AnneD]

10. And she is active too....

She will have more boyfriends than she knows what to do with. My little heart breaker always got a tad chunky before she had a growth spurt. We just enrolled in more sports and dance classes.

Edited to add, diet was a 4 letter word in our house, the F word was fat but we loved fluffy and I worked to have her maintain a healthy self image. Life is hard enough with out people beating themselves up.

[Mariana]

16. Her hair is cut short.

Paul is pretty clear, in 1 Corinthians, that it's shameful for a woman to have short hair, or for a man to have long hair. But she's not a woman, she's a little girl. Paul doesn't say anything about how little girls should wear their hair, and I don't think there's any mention of little girls' hairstyles anywhere else in the Bible, either.

[Warpy]

17. Paul was a Roman and a misogynist who never met Jesus

and anything that man wrote is to be taken with a pound of salt. He was put into the bible to serve empire, not god.

[Mariana]

18. Please, tell it to the fundies who believe that shit. nt.

[struggle4progress]

15. The school teaches the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, which IMO suggests

they're authoritarian fundamentalists

[trotsky]

19. Does that make their beliefs any less valid than yours? n/t

[struggle4progress]

20. Your posts would be more interesting if you stated and defended particular views

Then we might actually learn something from the discussion

[trotsky]

21. What particular view are you stating and defending?

You don't need to be so insulting. Try behaving like the better person you evidently think you are. Answer my question, please. Are their Christian beliefs less valid than yours?

[struggle4progress]

22. Your posts would be more interesting if you stated and defended particular views

Then we might actually learn something from the discussion

[trotsky]

23. Thanks for making things clear.

I asked a question; you engaged in personal attacks. I won't stoop to your level, sorry.

[struggle4progress]

31. Your posts would be more interesting if you stated and defended particular views

Then we might actually learn something from the discussion

[cbayer]

24. In the interest of fairness, I am posting the school's response here:

Lynchburg, VA – Liberty Counsel has been asked to represent Timberlake Christian Schools and to correct the record regarding allegations made about Timberlake Christian Schools and an eight-year-old girl by her great-grandparents and reported by a WSET news station. The statement below is from the School.
“Timberlake Christian Schools (School) is a ministry of Timberlake Baptist Church (Church). The Church and the School believe in the authority of the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God as an infallible guide for our lives. Our mission is to share the good news that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins. He rose again and offers eternal life to all who will accept him as Lord and Savior.

The School is an extension of the Church. Our mission is to provide an excellent education and to nurture boys and girls in the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they too can have a personal relationship with him. It pains us to see inaccurate information reported in the media regarding one of our young students, whom we will refer to as ‘S.K.’ in order to protect her privacy. The faculty and staff of the School love S.K. and want what is best for her as a person created in the image of God. We are deeply dismayed over the inaccurate and public nature of this situation and the false and inaccurate reporting.

The Church and the School are limited in what can be related about this situation. With all due respect, the facts are not as S.K.'s great-grandparents have portrayed them. This matter is far beyond a simple ‘hairstyle and tomboy issue’ as inaccurately portrayed. It is not about that at all. At no time did the Church or the School state or imply that S.K. was sexually immoral or the like. Yet, reports like this have appeared in the media. The School has never told S.K. she cannot return to school.

The Church and the School have a responsibility to all students, their parents, and guardians. Parents and guardians send their children to the School because of our Christian beliefs and standards. We have a duty to create an environment that is supportive of these Christian values. We cannot have conflicting messages or standards because such conflict will confuse our students and frustrate the parents and guardians who have entrusted the education of their children to us. When elementary children and their parents or guardians express concerns regarding use of the restroom and other matters arising from the sensitive issues here, the School has a duty to address those concerns and to ensure that all interests are heard and protected in accordance with the Christian mission of the School. While we welcome all students, parents and guardians are made aware of the School’s Christian mission and beliefs. We not only have a right, but we also have a duty to uphold these Christian standards.

We deeply regret that the great-grandparents either made inaccurate statements or were quoted out of context. This public discussion is not in the best interest of all concerned. S.K. has been attending our school for several years and we had looked forward to working with her and her great-grandparents privately.”

Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, who has been asked to represent the school, commented: “The Book of Proverbs says that he who states his case first seems right until another comes forth to challenge him. I think that accurately describes the misinformation that was reported regarding Timberlake Christian School. The school looks forward to working with the family and moving forward to a positive resolution.”

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/timberlake-christian-school-releases-statement-about-former-student/25179702

[trotsky]

25. Interesting how they are denying the reported facts,

but offer none of their own. Just that they are a Christian school with Christian beliefs and Christian standards. Given the hateful behavior sometimes exhibited even by liberal Christians right here on DU, seems safe to say that Christian values can be just about anything.

[get the red out]

28. Exactly!

I'd really like to know what an eight year old little girl has done that is so against Christianity? They need to educate the public about the evils of 8 year old girls.

[Goblinmonger]

29. If we apply the same standard as in the American Atheist notary thread

perhaps this girl and her mother are lying. We have two competing stories so they must be equal.

[trotsky]

30. Well done, GM.

Very well done indeed.

Of course, perhaps we ARE following the same standard in both cases - the standard that the truly religious are never bad, and that those they are discriminating against should be assumed to be liars.

[HockeyMom]

26. My hair was shorter than her's

when my younger daughter was a baby. It was almost a crew cut. Couldn't be bothered with it. Cut if all off!!! Hey, Mommy, you are setting a BAD example for your daughters. Nevermind, would never have sent them to a school like that anyway,.

[get the red out]

27. Short hair

My hair is so thick and curly I've never been able to wear it long. No one cared when I was a kid, or about the baseball glove hanging off my bicycle. My Baptist Decon Grandfather didn't care, my devout Church of Christ parents and other Grandparents didn't care; religion has become much more hateful than it was 40 years ago. Seriously, they didn't run around trying to humiliate little kids over nothing back then.