FFS Friday: Shauna Neilan

May 3, 2024

I started the series FFS (Female Free Speech) Friday to highlight the voices of women and girls who are speaking out about the harms of “gender identity.” Today’s post honors Shauna Neilan, a senior at John Jay High School in the Wappingers Central School District (WCSD) in New York. She is speaking out in support of single-sex spaces in schools.

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In March, Shauna led a protest against her school’s policy of allowing male students access to the girls’ bathrooms and locker room.

Later, she spoke out at a school meeting. This is what she said:

I am here to address the fact that biological men are allowed to change and use which restrooms they please while us females who are proven female down to our DNA are forced to share our private spaces with them. We are unable to express how uncomfortable we are, due to it being a sensitive topic.

I am here to be the voice to those students who are too scared to speak up because of the backlash they will get.

There have been many instances where biological men have sexually assaulted, flashed, and beat female students in other districts.

This new law was supposed to keep women safe, however, we do not feel safe. Schools are supposed to keep all students safe, so what are those schools doing to keep us females safe? Why are transgender females more entitled than biological females? They have their rights; where are ours?

We had a protest today in school and we had many supporters. We had a teacher flip us off while driving by. We also had a picture going around of a teacher with a large trans flag displayed in the background of her smartboard, which is pushing their ideology onto these students. And teachers should not be expressing themselves to students; teachers are in schools to teach their primary subject, not talk about their political, religious, or LGBTQ+ ideology, and should definitely not be forcing it onto their students.

We need a change. Not just at John Jay but at every other school in our district. Thank you for your time.

Please watch the clip if you have a few minutes.

The WCSD has a policy in place stating:

The Board of Education, its officers and employees, shall not discriminate in its programs and activities on the basis of legally protected classes, such as, but not limited to:  race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles like braids, locks, and twists), color, national origin, creed, religion (including religious practices), marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), gender identity and expression (i.e., actual or perceived gender-related identity, appearance, behavior, expression, or other gender-related characteristic regardless of the sex assigned to that person at birth, including but not limited to the status of being transgender), age, sexual orientation, disability (physical or mental), predisposing genetic characteristic, military work or status, domestic violence victim status, citizenship/immigration status, or use of a guide dog, hearing dog, or service dog, as applicable.

You can contact the board at the following addresses:

General comments: wcsd.comments@wcsdny.org

Public relations: wcsd.pr@wcsdny.org

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Now, a message for Shauna. Shauna, first of all, I am sorry you have to take a stand on behalf of yourself and your fellow female students because none of the adults in charge are willing to protect you. Second, well done, and please don’t stop speaking out; there are countless women (and plenty of men) who will stand with you. Third, this episode of FFS Friday is for you.