A 450-student school district in rural East Texas last week canceled plans for its annual day on which girls dress as boys and vice versa, after a parent complained that the event smacked of promoting homosexuality.
Instead, students in the Spurger Independent School District wore boots and hunting clothing to class on what was billed as “Camo Day,” said Tanner T. Hunt Jr., the district’s lawyer.
District officials scrapped TWIRP Day, which is an acronym for “the woman is requested to pay,” after the Plano-based Liberty Legal Institute issued a press release denouncing what it called “cross-dressing.” The mother of two children in the district had objected to the event, which was to be voluntary for all students.
The idea behind TWIRP Day is for “boys and girls to reverse social roles,” according to a release from the district, including older girls inviting boys on dates, opening doors for them, and paying for sodas.
Mr. Hunt said that although the family that complained was told its children could receive excused absences for skipping the event, the district got so much negative attention that officials decided to abandon the tradition. Instead, students were given the option of wearing garb related to hunting, which the lawyer said is a popular pastime in the region.
