Hey there, I'm new here, and I have a problem.

I'm in 9th grade right now, and next year, I'm going to go to a new school. I don't know much about that school, but I recently heard that it has two locker sections (I don't know what to call them, they're not locker rooms, just areas) that are, you guessed it, ''gender-specific''. I use quotation marks because I'm about 99% sure they don't have anything to do with gender, and are actually sex-specific (is that even a word? Like I said, I'm new to the community and don't know all the right terms yet).

I really don't know what to do. I talked to a teacher from that school that visited mine, and she gave me the principal's phone number, and told me to call and ask for a boy locker. I'm gonna call eventually, but I'm really scared of the answer I'll get.

If they give me a girl locker, I'm not going to use it. I'm just going to do without it. I'm gonna bring my bag and my coat to every class.

Do you guys have any advice or any idea what I should say to the principal when I call her?

(btw, English is not my native language, so there might be a few errors here. Please tell me what they are so I can get better. Thank you.)

Welcome to Susan's! As a minor, you really must work with the adults. Are your parents on board? If so, they might be able to intercede on your behalf.

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I would suggest you have your parents call.  I don't know about in your country, but in the USA it is unusual for administration to take word of student alone.  We get too many students doing and requesting things just to cause trouble.  A "kid who called wolf" syndrome.  Of course, all of the the schools I ever worked at were too large for students to use their lockers--there wasn't enough time between classes to get all the way to your locker and to the next class, so everyone carried all their stuff with them.  Maybe you will get lucky and it will be like this?  Otherwise it would probably be beneficial to you to have an adult intercede on your behalf.  Maybe even the teacher who gave you the number?  I know this sounds bad, but people who work at schools rarely take teens too seriously.  We see too many crazy stunts pulled and lose our trust in them all.

I second that you should have your parents call.

If your parents aren't on board with it, then I hate to say, it's not very likely the school will be...
Usually they like to discuss these things with parents.

Also, I remember back in high school, there weren't any gender-specific lockers, but my locker was so dang far from any of my classes that I never used it. We had 5 minutes to get across campus. There was no way I'd have time to go from one side of campus, to the other and back in 5 minutes. So I carried a bag with me to every class. I think a lot of high school students choose to not use their lockers. So if you did this, you might find that it's annoying, but not un-common.

In my high school you were not allowed to carry a backpack or a coat. Lockers were done by grade level in alphabetical order. You had the same locker for 4 years. Hopefully they will change it for you. If you were in USA I would say get a lawyer if they say no but I don't know the laws there.

Having a parent call seems like a good idea.

Do you have a chance of going there and having a look at the school ?

Well imo its not only the locker.
Its also changing rooms for sports.
What about asking for a seperate one ? There might be one for the teachers. Or would you prefer the boys room ?

Imo its a chance you are not the first transgender person there.
Its possible they have already some kind of solution.


*hugs*

Have your folks call. Like Alex, my junior high and high school didn't allow backpacks or coats. So I would have been very out of luck in that situation.

Also, are you sure they aren't speaking specifically about a locker room for gym/sports? Those are typically divided by gender, but I've never heard of general use lockers being divided that way. Mine were always assigned alphabetically by home room.

If you're out to your parents, I'd have them handle it. Schools are much more likely to listen to parental figures. But if you're not, take a few breaths and call. The worst you can get is a no, and even then, it's worth causing a mini riot over if they don't allow it.

At the very worst, carrying your stuff an option but it's not a very fun one. I wish you the best of luck.