Transgender teen given shout-out at Grammys
A FEW years ago, Gavin Grimm was an unknown pupil at a high school in Gloucester, Virginia, US, pleading with officials to be able to use the boys’ toilet. The teen, who came out as transgender, had begun using the boys’ toilet when the school board passed a policy banning him from it, forcing him to use a unisex toilet instead.
On Sunday night, millions more people learnt his name after Laverne Cox, an actress and transgender activist, gave him a shout-out while introducing Metallica and Lady Gaga at the Grammy Awards.
“Everyone, please google ‘Gavin Grimm.’ He’s going to the Supreme Court in March. Hashtag stand with Gavin,” Cox said, signing off her introduction by referring to “Ladies and gentlemen and all my gender non-binary peeps tonight… ”
Gavin sued the Gloucester County School Board in 2015 in federal court, arguing its policy barring him from the boys’ toilet, violated Title IX, the federal law against sex discrimination in schools.
The case is now headed for the Supreme Court, with oral arguments scheduled for late next month. It could affect how public schools accommodate transgender pupils across the nation.
The case is partially based on a directive issued by the Education Department under the Obama administration in May, directing public schools to allow transgender pupils to use toilets that align with their gender identity. Should the Trump administration rescind that directive, some question whether the high court will hear the case at all, or if it will be remanded to a lower court.
Gavin, 17, said he had no idea Cox was going to mention his name and was not watching the Grammys.
But his mother Deirdre was in another room, and Gavin found out only when she “started shrieking”. “I was so thrilled because I love her. “She’s a beautiful person inside and out,” Gavin said. “I was touched and thrilled and honoured that that was the first thing out of her mouth.”
Gavin has become the unlikely standard-bearer for transgender pupil rights.
“At this point, that’s the role I occupy and I want to make sure I’m using that platform for positive,” he said.