Pro-Gay Public Schools ask 3rd-grade boys to dress as girls for Fashion ShowPro-Gay Public Schools ask 3rd-grade boys to dress as girls for Fashion Show Philadelphia: When Janane Giandomenico's son explained his school project to her, she dismissed his worries and figured she'd have to fork out a few bucks for poster board, supplies, and a glue stick or two. Then she read the letter that accompanied the project, over and over again, and realized that her son's third-grade teacher at the Maude Wilkins Elementary School in Maple Shade, Burlington County, was asking the class, including the boys, to dress as women during a fashion show for a Women's History Month project. "I don't see how having a women's fashion show, and asking my son to dress like a woman, teaches anything about women's history," the 41-year-old township resident said yesterday morning. "Teach them about real people and about real things, but don't turn the boys into the Paris Hilton and the Kardashian channel." In a letter sent to parents on Monday, school principal Beth Norcia said that there had been a "misconception" about the fashion show. "It was never our intent to have boys dress as girls," she wrote. However, with the parental outcry, it was immediately canceled. The initial letter describing the project, written by teacher Tonya Uibel, said that the class had been learning about women in history in March and that "all students" must participate in the fashion-show project, which was a graded assignment. "If your child is a young man, he does not have to wear a dress or skirt, as there are women's jeans, and pants" the letter reads. "However, each child must be able to express what time period their outfit is from. Most of all, your child should have fun creating their outfit and learning about how women's clothing has changed!" Giandomenico was still not too happy that her son could skip the dress but that he still would have to dress like a woman."I read it over and over. I had my family and friends read it," she said. "There is nothing to misunderstand." This Pro-Gay Public Schools simply asked our 3rd-grade boys to dress as girls for the Women's Fashion Show! The letter also came with a packet, describing in words and pictures, how women's clothing had evolved through history from the constrictive attire of the Victorian era, to bell bottoms, to the big shirts and even bigger hair of the '80s. Last year, a school in that same Burlington Township district gained international attention and scorn from conservative groups after a YouTube video was posted showing students there singing praise-songs of President Obama. just as if singing to Jesus Christ Himself! Giandomenico, a self-described "libertarian," said she had tried to contact her son's teacher about the issue, and claims her concerns were brushed off. She also tried to contact conservative radio hosts Glenn Beck and Michael Smerconish while broadcasting the issue to her nearly 900 Facebook friends. "The school doesn't get it," she said. "I'm not a right-winger. I'm not a radical, but I believe in the Constitution and I believe in my parental rights." Calls to the school were referred to district Superintendent Michael Livengood. Despite the letter's apparent call for boys to dress up in women's clothing, he said the issue is being blown out of proportion. Amazingly . . . the timing of the "boys-cross-dressing-as-girls" fashion show coincided with the "Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's Day" Giandomenico said, and she felt it was no coincidence. She said that she's open to "alternative lifestyles" and has male friends who dress as women, but that it's not something third-and-fourth-grade students can handle, particularly her son, who has Asperger's syndrome. "I'm not freaked out by alternative lifestyles. It's just the fact that the school system is trying to push alternative lifestyles in a sneaky way," she said. "At 9 years old, I'm not ready to have the conversation with my son about homosexuals, lesbians and cross-dressing. When he's ready, he'll come and ask me." Several members of the Burlington County Advisory Council on Women, along with the township's school board, did not return phone calls or e-mails for comment. Outside the school yesterday afternoon, many parents said the fashion show faux pas had created another issue - angry little girls. "The whole thing is ridiculous," she said. One parent who didn't want the show canceled accused Janane: "Your son is not instantly going to turn gay if he's involved in a women's fashion show," she said. Giandomenico, however, said many parents, particularly men, in the blue-collar town agree with her. "I asked a lot of men if they would let their sons do this," she said. "They all said 'hell no.' " === To verify or to see what to do, call JASON NARK Philadelphia Daily News 856-779-3231 or email narkj@phillynews.com
  
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