Seventeen-year-old Maria Muniz told Orange UK that she never felt happy living as a boy and so decided to start coming to school dressed in the girls’ uniform.
Her teacher at Pedro II School in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fined Muniz for not wearing trousers and told her she couldn’t come back to class wearing a skirt.
But she did — and so did the boys in her class, who rallied behind Muniz to show their solidarity and support by donning the female uniform themselves.
“I am really happy about the way my classmates supported me and I hope it serves as an example to others to feel encouraged to do the right thing,” Muniz said. “I was always taught at school to accept who you are, I am only trying to live that.”
Since photos of Muniz and her pals in skirts went viral, Pedro II School’s principal has said he’s open to changing the dress code. “The sexual orientation is not important for us; all our students are equal,” he said. “However, the uniform determines male and female clothing, but we will study a new manual of coexistence.”
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