Original Article
When a 13-year-old girl said she actually was a boy, teachers at her Maine school started using male pronouns for her and a counselor gave her a breast binder to wear to create the appearance of a flatter chest.
No one told her mother.
Amber Lavigne said she discovered the device in her daughter’s bedroom. It was then that the child admitted a staff member at the Great Salt Bay Community School had given it to her, as well as changing the name and pronouns she used at school, Lavigne told her community’s school board members during a public meeting on Dec. 14.
The youngster was told to keep it a secret from her parents, which caused her increasing “stress, anxiety, and depression,” Lavigne told the school board of the Central Lincoln County School System (CLCSS) AOS 93. The district serves seven rural communities in mid-coast Maine.
“Utilizing these devices can cause serious side effects,” Lavigne told board members.
Studies suggest breast binders can cause back pain, shortness of breath, chest pain, skin problems, and rib fractures.
When Lavigne expressed concern to school officials for “this heinous act, they expressed grave concern,” she told board members.
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