This Is How It Always Is

This Is How It Always Is

by

Laurie Frankel

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This Is How It Always Is: Part I: Invention Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Penn and Rosie schedule a meeting at the school near the end of the fall term. They plan exactly what to tell the school about Claude, and it basically boils down to his happiness. They support whatever makes Claude happy, including dresses. The night before the meeting as Penn and Rosie go over their plans again, Roo and Ben come downstairs. They are “staging an invention,” Roo says. “Intervention, you idiot,” Ben corrects. Whatever, Roo says, they just don’t want Claude wearing a dress to school. Kids are mean, Ben adds, and Claude is going to get beat up.
Again, Ben and Roo’s “intervention” is evidence of their love for Claude, even though Claude’s gender isn’t something they can intervene in and therefore stop. Claude is who he is, which might not be a boy, and Ben and Roo can’t expect him to be someone he isn’t—no matter where Claude is. Statistically speaking, transgender girls and women are assaulted more than any other member of the LGBTQ community, which again reflects the hate that is common in American society.
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The dresses are “weird,” Roo says, and “gay.” Penn asks what’s wrong with being gay, and Ben says nothing, but they should teach Claude some kung fu or something before they turn him loose in the world as gay. Penn points out that they are all weird. Roo plays football and the flute, and Ben skips grades because he makes up extra homework for himself in his spare time. We’re all weird, Penn says again, and Rosie reminds them that they can’t tell their brother who to be, all they can do is support who he is.
Roo’s comment that Claude’s dresses are “weird” and “gay” again reflect the homophobia that is rampant in American society. Furthermore, Claude’s likely transgender identity does not mean that he is also gay. Gender and sexuality are two different things, and many transgender people see them independent of one another.
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The next day, Rosie and Penn arrive at the school for their meeting. They are prepared to meet only with Dwight Harmon, but Miss Appleton is there along with Victoria Revels, a representative from the school district. Victoria Revels immediately asks if Claude will be changing his name, and Penn says no, somewhat confused. They don’t need to worry about pronouns then, she says, moving right along. Dwight can tell Penn and Rosie are nervous, so he tells them to relax. They handle kids with special needs all the time, and Claude isn’t their first transgender student. Claude just wants to wear a dress, Rosie says, they haven’t put any labels on him. That’s fine, Dwight says, but as far as the school is concerned, any boy who wears a dress is considered transgender for paperwork purposes.
Claude hasn’t even decided yet that he is transgender, but the school is intent on labeling him as such—or at least for the sake of their paperwork. Gender identity is a deeply personal issue, and the school treats it as if it is some box to be checked on a form. This, too, reflects the discrimination the LGBTQ community faces. The school clearly isn’t comfortable with Claude’s gender, but they would be more comfortable if they can just label him a girl and then act accordingly.
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Victoria Revels continues. Claude will have to use the bathroom in the nurse’s office, she says. They can’t allow him to use the girls’ bathroom, and the boys’ bathroom might make him uncomfortable, so the nurse’s office is his only choice. Miss Appleton says Rosie and Penn should prepare Claude for lots of questions. Children are naturally curious and will want to know why he is wearing a dress, and he should always tell them the truth. Penn interrupts. Claude doesn’t know why he wants to wear a dress, so the truth might be difficult. Dwight says the right answers will come in time, and Victoria Revels agrees. The important thing is that Claude must use the bathroom in the nurse’s office, she says. Sure, Rosie says sarcastically, and no peanut butter. “Or jelly you’ve dipped your peanut butter knife into,” Miss Appleton says seriously.
What bathroom Claude uses isn’t important, Rosie implies, just like the peanut butter ban when no one in the class is actually allergic to it; however, Miss Appleton doesn’t seem to get it. Miss Appleton’s fear of peanut butter is misguided and ill-informed, just as her fear of Claude is. Claude has rights and can use any bathroom he pleases, and the treatment by Victoria Revels amounts to little more than discrimination.  The school is clearly more worried about Claude making other students uncomfortable than they are worried about accommodating what Claude needs. Of course, Claude isn’t asking for anything, he only wants to wear a dress.
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On the first day of school after Christmas break, Claude comes downstairs wearing a nice casual denim skirt and a pink sweater. Rosie wants to go to school with him, but Claude has decided that he wants Penn to go and sit in the back, so that’s exactly what Penn does. As the kids arrive, Miss Appleton sits them in a circle and says that many exciting things happened during break. Susan lost a tooth, Miss Appleton says of one of the students, and Carrie has a new haircut. Claude, Miss Appleton says, has decided to be a “fairy girl.” She asks if anyone has questions, and the students begin to ask questions. Do Claude’s tights itch, they ask, and does he plan on growing out his hair? Claude says no, his tights don’t itch, but he hasn’t really thought much about his hair.
Miss Appleton’s comment that Claude has decided to become a “fairy girl” is offensive and demeaning. He isn’t a “fairy,” he is just a girl, and he didn’t decide to, he just is. Referring to him as a “fairy girl” reduces Claude’s dress to something like a costume and not what it is: a reflection of who he truly is. The other students ask if Claude plans to grow his hair out because, as a girl, he will be expected to have long hair. This expectation again underscores how narrowly society defines and recognizes gender.
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At lunch time, Penn asks Claude if he is okay, and Claude says he is. The next morning, Claude comes downstairs and asks how long it will take to grow his hair down to his butt. He is wearing a purple jumper with rainbow stripped tights, and Rosie knows he is doing just fine with his new wardrobe.
Claude associates long hair with being a girl because the kids at school implied that girls have long hair, which again underscores how gender is socially constructed. Claude didn’t even think about his hair until the other kids drew attention to it.
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