Seat Of Unrest

All eyes are on 15-year-old Gavin Grimm at a school board meeting in Gloucester, Va., the small town where he has lived his entire short life. Gavin is here because the main item of business before the board on the afternoon of Dec. 9, 2014, has to do with him. The board is voting on whether he should be allowed to use the boys bathroom at Gloucester High School.

Designated a girl at birth, Gavin, now 16, is transgender. He came out to his family after a long struggle in 2014, and has been taking hormones as part of the transition process. He has legally changed his name, dresses as a boy, and lives as a boy in every way.

When he started 10th grade in September 2014, the administration granted his request to use the boys room. But now, in response to complaints from members of the community, the school board was compelled to vote on a policy that would prohibit him from using the boys room and require him to use a gender-neutral bathroom or the girls room.

As the floor opens for public debate on the question, Gavin, wearing a crisp checked dress shirt and a royal-blue tie, rises and approaches the microphone at a podium in the aisle. He faces the board without fidgeting, his posture erect and his hands folded, speaking with composure and precision.

More