© WCBS-TV video screenshotNew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is standing behind a rule forbidding father-daughter, mother-son dances implemented by the city's Department of Education to satisfy gender-neutral requirements.
"I'm a father with a daughter," de Blasio told WCBS-TV Wednesday. "I think it's a beautiful idea to have a father-daughter dance." But the mayor added that "the goal" of the DOE's rule "was simply to create something everyone could participate in" and that "we just want to respect all our students."
Comment: Thinking everyone can be included all the time and everyone is always equal is at odds with reality.
A Staten Island elementary school recently canceled its traditional father-daughter dance over the DOE's gender guidelines.
"Father-daughter dances or mother-son dances can exclude certain students and types of families, and may also be inconsistent with laws that prohibit exclusion on the basis of sex or gender, and are therefore not permissible," the department told WCBS in a statement.
The DOE added to the station that the policy isn't new; it's a 2013 chancellor's regulation requiring gender-neutrality and inclusiveness for all school activities.
© YouTube screenshot
© WCBS-TV video screenshot
And as for girls with two mothers or for those whose fathers have died or aren't at home, Brooklyn resident - and former teacher - Clara Kitroser told the station, "I think it is a good idea."
Comment: This is, still, an extremely small minority.
But others told WCBS that girls can bring uncles or even police officers who often volunteer for the job.
"Why shouldn't someone who doesn't have a daddy or has a different kind of daddy bring that?" Upper West Side resident Jeffrey Moss told the station. "It's not about daddies; it's about having somebody."
The DOE told WCBS that city schools can hold dances if they are off school property and sponsored by an organization not affiliated with schools.
Can't have Father/Daughter dancing at a Public School;
But does support Pride March in Public Streets.