Fairborn: Powderpuff cheerleader, unisex graduation gown rumors untrue

Rumors that a troupe of cross-dressing male cheerleaders at the Fairborn powderpuff football game will have to hang up their pom-poms is untrue, the school district said Friday.

Also untrue are rumors that the school’s graduates will trade their gender-specific academic gowns for unisex gowns, the district’s superintendent said.

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The rumors — which several concerned parents forwarded to this newsroom via social media — are rooted in misunderstandings of actual events, the administration said.

Here’s what happened:

At Fairborn, graduating females traditionally wear one color graduation gown, while males wear another color gown.

This week, a sales representative for the company that provides the school’s academic gowns visited administrators and presented them with a unisex concept. The salesman told the district other schools had asked for such gowns and wanted Fairborn to know they are available, the district said.

Principal Amy Gayheart told Superintendent Mark North about the salesman’s proposal, North said. The two discussed the matter and determined no change was necessary.

“Students can wear whichever gown they want,” North said.

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Meantime, North said Gayheart approached several male students about the upcoming powderpuff game, in which females play football and, per tradition, the males dress as female cheerleaders.

“She shared with them that there have been some concerns about the extremes in attire and actions, and it can be degrading to some people or offensive to others,” North said. “Later on in the day, after she had some time to think about it, she said she thought about it and said, ‘Guys, I don’t have a problem with you dressing up as a cheerleader, but we need to do it in good taste and within guidelines.”

“Powderpuff tradition … will continue as it has in the past,” North said.

Gayheart did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

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