Mark Krolikowski considers himself a transgender teacher. Dressed as a male, he taught music, social studies and a class on human sexuality for 32 years at St. Francis Prep in Queens, N.Y. He received numerous accolades for his work, even led students in a musical performance for Pope Benedict XVI. Last year Krolikowski informed Principle Brother Leonard Conway that he intended to start coming to work dressed as a woman. Krolikowski was fired later after the parent of a ninth grader complained about his appearance.
Krolikowski claims in his wrongful termination lawsuit that he was fired for his gender identity. The claim states Conway told him that being transgender was "worse than gay" and that he could no longer appear at public events if he planned to begin appearing as a woman. The school's attorney, Phil Sempervivo states the reason for termination was appropriate nondiscriminatory reasons and not his gender identity.
St. Francis Prep is a private, religious school. Andrew Kimler, Krolikowski's attorney stated, "He is extremely upset given the dedication and devotion he showed to the school for 30 years." Kimler added the is private but his client was still protected under city and state anti-discriminatory laws.
Krolikowski is male. He wore suit and tie regularly to work but grew his hair, wore feminine nail polish and wore earrings. It was not known if he had started any hormone treatments. So here is the question, was he in violation of dress code standards? He is male legally. He is identified as male to his co-workers and students. He performed his job as a male for over 30-years. He did not start coming to work dressed as a woman. He continued his male identity. He wore hair, nail polish and jewelry not in keeping with dress codes.
Is it wrong to fire him for being a transgender teacher? St. Francis Prep is a private school, a business. Paying customers took offense to the appearance of a teacher. The collective theological and textual education received at this school is a product being sold. The image Krolikowski presented was not in keeping with the product offered, expected and paid for. So in that sense no, they were justified. Appearance should never be the reason for termination. It wasn't actually his appearance objected to. This is a religious organization promoting the standards of its doctrine. Allowing him to remain in open violation of that doctrine was not possible.
Photo credit: Victor Alcorn/Splash News
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Comments: 19
The law will favor the school...
But a definition of ridiculous is not conforming to the standards of one's time and place. My pen name is ridiculous.
On the other hand, hyper-massive belief in anti-environmental and anti-human rights holy books is ridiculous. Sending your kids to a religious school to practice discrimination against GLBT and be brainwashed into superstition is ridiculous.
Should organisations with fairy tale belief systems have special rights to discriminate, not pay taxes, or burn witches alive because they take their plainly delusional viewpoints far too seriously? Very many over the centuries have and continue to feel so.
Until election late 2012, 32 of the 32(?) states in which the electorate voted - in this majority christian nation - refused to grant marriage = to gays. Then on Gather I read post after post, and comment after comment, about how christians are the new victims. Mmhm.
Rights are for those without power, such as unpopular minorities. In democracy-based societies, majorities - by their power - don't need them near so much.
Let me tell you what a holy book person told me today (my comment stream has the source),
This means that the words that I write have been authorized by GOD.
By a long shot, it ain't GLBT people that look the most ridiculous;-]
I've made progress making comments of generally readably short length, and could probably do a bit more. And perhaps replacing some technicalities with more spirit and humour.
Thank you for the illumination;-]
A mucho better pic of him.
Thousands - including past and current students of the school - signed the online petition to get St. Francis Preparatory High School to enter the modern age of diversity and take him back.
I added my name sometime back - I invite the public to add yours.
It would be my opinion that first of all, Mark Krolikowski is no transgender individual, regardless of what he considers himself to be. He is still a male in all physical aspects of the term. The fact that he has chosen to wear female makeup, a female hair style and other female visual identifications, does not change his physical gender in any way whatsoever.
He is no woman in any sense of the term since he has not actually undergone a male to female sex change, both mentally and physically. Therefore, he can not claim to be nor should he be viewed by others as being a transgender person.
Krolikowski is, what is typically known as or referred to in modern society as being, a cross dresser. A recognition which has nothing to do with a person's physical gender, only their preference to wear colthing and or other identifying attire of the opposit sex/gender.
Inasmuch, being a cross dresser is millions of miles away from being a transgender. Cross dressing only denotes a person's desire to appear outwardly as resembling the opposit sex/gender from which that person actually is. Whereas, transgender is a person who not only desires to resemble the opposit sex, but has undergone the medical procedures required to physically change their sex/gender as well as having received the mental counseling associated with a sex change. Procedures which are required for a person to become the opposit sex/gender from that which the individual was born.
IMO, Because Mr. Krolikowski is not actually a transgender and only a cross dresser, the shool had every right to insist that either Mr. Krolikowski continue to dress as a man (his true identifying gender) while on school property or suffer the consequences of being fired.
It would also be my personal opinion, that it is people like Mr. Krolikowski who hurt the GLBT community in their struggle to be treated equally within our society.
Completely different issue...
IMnsHO he should go back to being a guy...he is one UGLY chick...