Blue Sky Blog

Mohawk, New York is a small town in the center of the Empire State. In the 2000 census it clocked in with a population of 2,660. A recent graduate told a local newspaper reporter in August last year what young men in Mohawk do: “we hunt, we fish, we drive trucks.”

A boy named Jacob did not like to do those perfectly wonderful and legitimate things. In a lawsuit he and his father have filed against the Mohawk school system, he alleges that when he entered the seventh grade in 2007 he “was regularly called ‘bitch’ and ‘pussy’ and on various occasions students told him he should get a sex change operation because he was so ‘girly’.” Rather than hunt, fish and drive trucks, Jacob dyed his hair, wore eye make-up and spoke in a high-pitched voice. These things are not yet legitimate choices for boys in Mohawk. Mohawk in that regard is not much different from the rest of the nation.

It was only as he started the eighth grade in 2008 that Jacob came out as gay. That’s when he says things started getting worse for him at school — including, he alleges, being pushed down a staircase, having food thrown at him in the cafeteria and being threatened with a knife in a classroom. As a 24-year-old Mohawk man explained life for boys to a Utica newspaper, “You’ve got to protect yourself if you’re different.” How could Jacob stop being different from the other boys? Only by being different from himself. According to an affidavit Jacob filed with the court, a boy who bullied him suggested that he “lose the makeup, lift weights, lose the faggot voice and start liking girls.”

Jacob and his father, who appears to have done everything he reasonably could have done to protect his son and get help for him from school officials, are being aided by the New York Civil Liberties Union in their suit against the Mohawk school system. They filed their complaint in August and modified it for technical reasons in September. Now, just last week, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a motion, citing Title IX, for permission to intervene in Jacob’s lawsuit. Noting that Jacob has fled to a school in a different town and that the only available remedy to Jacob from his former school system would be monetary damages, DOJ says it needs to participate in the lawsuit to ensure that the resolution of the case establishes a precedent that serves the national interest, not just Jacob’s alone.

DOJ’s move has been opposed by some. Roger Clegg, a DOJ attorney in the Civil Rights Division under President George W. Bush, told National Public Radio on January 15 that Title IX does not apply to Jacob’s case because “Congress has not passed a law that deals with discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Jacob’s lawsuit, however, takes pains to point out that he was discriminated against on the basis of sex — a category clearly covered by Title IX — long before his sexual orientation was known to his alleged tormentors. Girls who enjoy dying their hair, wearing make-up and talking in high-pitched voices are not harassed and threatened in Mohawk schools for doing so, and would likely have been energetically protected by school officials if they were. Jacob engages in the same behaviors and they bring him grief, heartache and official disdain — only because he is a boy.

In a statement issued on January 15, shortly after DOJ announced its intentions to participate in Jacob’s lawsuit, the superintendent of Mohawk schools sought to assure the public that her staff “are committed to doing everything in their power to prevent bullying and promote tolerance [and that the school system] is open to new ideas and recommendations on how it can take a more proactive role in teaching respect and appreciation for diversity.”

Given that Jacob was allegedly harassed for being a boy who was not content with current dictates for boyhood, perhaps the superintendent would like to help further the Blue Sky Rebellion or something very much like it.

I’m sending her a copy of the book.

On Friday, January 8, 2010 at noon and again at 7 pm ET, the very insightful and talented radio host Aaron Henkin will air an interview he taped with me a few weeks ago. You can hear it over the air in Baltimore on WYPR at 88.1 FM. If you’re not near Baltimore you can stream it at wypr.org. After the broadcast you can find the podcast at signalradio.org.

Heroes of the Blue Sky Rebellion is usually well-received by those who find out about it. Most recently Michael Gurian of the Gurian Institute (www.gurianinstitute.com), a highly-regarded expert on boys’ education issues, told me “This is such a nice book” and it is “of immense value.” Michael has offered to spread the word through his large mailing list of teachers, parents and others who care about the well-being of boys. I am very grateful.

A high school teacher wrote to say he LOVES “Heroes of the Blue Sky Rebellion” and has ordered ten copies to give away to young men he knows who will benefit from it. That’s enough to make an author’s day.

Thanks to MensENews (mensenews.org) for mentioning the book in today’s Gender Issues distribution. If you don’t yet subscribe, please take a look. It’s a handy, free yet valuable resource for those interested in fatherhood, men’s health and gender justice for males.

This morning I mailed postcards addressed to “Guidance Counselor, Please” at 100 of the nation’s largest high schools. The idea is that guidance counselors might order and read the book and recommend it to the male students they counsel and advise.

Getting ready to send postcards about the book to a test sample of guidance counselors at a hundred of the USA’s largest high schools. If you have other ideas for reaching an audience that could make use of “Heroes of the Blue Sky Rebellion” (or HotBSR, as a friend calls it), please let me know.

Made some changes to the video. Picking up on the comment from a few days ago, I’m asking viewers to acknowledge that they’ve thought about unfairness to boys, but only silently, ashamedly and alone.

Yesterday the Guestbook at the Blue Sky Rebellion website got two very different new entries. One, from a visitor saying he was born in 1992, said, “Probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.” I wrote back to that visitor and said, “Thanks for looking at the website for ‘Heroes of the Blue Sky Rebellion.’ Maybe you can help me out. Why do you think it might be the dumbest thing you’ve ever seen? Also, how did you come across the website? And could you tell me a little about yourself and the kinds of things you think are not dumb? Many thanks.” I have received no reply yet.

A few minutes later came this entry from a visitor who said he was born in 1993: “I saw your ad on Facebook and couldn’t believe that someone else felt the same way I did. I am going to buy your book immediately. Thank you so much for putting this together, you have all my gratitude and praise.” That, of course, made me feel much better. It is the kind of reaction I hope for and expect because it mirrors the most common comment I receive for another of my books, this one written for adult men, “If Men Have All the Power How Come Women Make the Rules.”

Reaching boys and young men who are willing to buy and read a book is a challenge. Right now I’m trying ads on MySpace and Facebook. Interesting that the two different ads I designed have gotten zero clicks on MySpace all day, though they’ve been displayed (who knows how prominently?) to about 1700 young men. On Facebook, though they started later in the day, the ads have gotten 23 clicks. Interesting also that the Scold ad is attracting many more clicks than the White House Gate ad. (Can’t wait to tell my girlfriend, who is the model scolder.) No sales from the 23 clicks, but consistency is the name of the game. It might be that young men need to think about this, and the ad needs to be there to remind them from time to time. Fingers crossed. I’m hoping this book can make a difference.