“Transmasculine” elementary school teacher wins $60,000 settlement for harassment

“Transmasculine” elementary school teacher wins $60,000 settlement for harassment

“Transmasculine” elementary school teacher wins $60,000 settlement for harassment

A “transmasculine” elementary school teacher in the Gresham-Barlow School District in Oregon has won a $60,000 settlement from “their” district for harassment from other teachers. The teacher identifies as neither male or female and uses the pronoun “they” instead of he or she.

Leo Soell
Leo Soell

Leo Soell, formerly known as the now highly offensive “Miss Soell,” has been working as a teacher since 2013. When “they” were hired they decided not to come out because Oregon teachers are on probation for the first three years of their employment and they wanted more job security. But at the end of 2014, Leo was struck with breast cancer, had a mastectomy, restructured their chest area to be more masculine and decided not to live in the shadows any longer. It was then that they started to report harassment from fellow teachers. (That “their” is gonna take a lot of getting used to!)

The mean elementary school teachers:

continuously called Soell “she,” “lady” or “Miss Soell.” Someone smeared Vaseline on Soell’s cabinets, the complaint said, and another yelled insults in the school hallway. Others conspired to prevent Soell from using the school’s lone gender-neutral bathroom [that supposedly no one had ever used before].

Soell also

claimed one teacher screamed at her in the hallway that her gender choice was offensive to God, and she said teachers conspired to use the school’s only gender-neutral bathroom so Soell would have to wait a half-hour or more to use it.

ICYMI, NSFW:

It was only when Soell threatened a lawsuit that the school district capitulated and offered a settlement. The district knew it would lose because Soell’s attorney was Jennifer Middleton – the lawyer who won the Bake Me a Lesbian Wedding Cake case. Oregon is pretty “genderqueer” friendly already with another case raking in over $400,000 for disgruntled transgender and cross-dressing bar patrons who were asked not to patronize a certain establishment.

Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian has ruled in favor of marginalized groups with hefty fines over the past few years. In 2015, Avakian awarded $135,000 to a lesbian couple denied a wedding cake. In 2013, Avakian ordered a North Portland bar owner to pay $400,000 to a group of transgender and cross-dressing patrons he asked not to return. – Oregon live

In response to the settlement, the district is converting single gender bathrooms to private gender neutral bathrooms and loading up on the sensitivity training and writing new guidelines. The district is also reminding employees not to be mean by calling someone their biological gender.

“These policies require that all staff address transgender or gender non-conforming employees with their correct name and pronouns,” the principal wrote. “If you are found to be in violation of these policies, you will be subject to discipline up to and including dismissal.”

In conclusion Soell seems satisfied with the outcome:

“I actually feel safe now,” Soell said in an interview after the settlement. “There will always be people who push the boundaries, but I’m not worried about them anymore because I know that my district supports me.”

“Everyone feels better when they know what the boundary is,” Soell said. “And there was just no line before.”

So ironic – Soell claims some boundary has been created, but it’s the exact opposite. The line now is that there is no line between male and female, that a differentiation simply does not exist. What progress we are making in the 21st century where we no longer have to be tethered to nature and science!

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7 Comments
  • Appalled By The World says:

    This is no longer a nation, but a freak show. The whole world laughs at what once was the USA and for good reason. It was inevitable once Pandora’s Box opened on 11/4/08. When Nerobama and all of his worshipers die they need to spend eternity in hell for destroying a once great nation in just 8 short years with all their insane BS.

  • GWB says:

    It’s entirely possible she was harassed. But if there’s not an actual video or audio recording – given all the faux “hate crimes” out there – I’ll withhold judgment.

    Look, Leo, you’re abnormal. You need to understand that. No matter how much you protest it or claim otherwise, you are now and will always be abnormal. Unless you return to your senses. Ever seen Young Frankenstein? Yes, that’s your brain that Eyegor grabs.
    I will not deny reality in order to make the 0.1% who are mentally ill feel good about themselves.

  • Lisa Carr says:

    ^^^Good one, GWB!

    As I said when I shared this….$60,000 makes “Leo” feel “safe”. Yep. An extra $60,000 would make me feel a lot “safer”, too. So much for the advocacy of children. $60,000 from a school district to appease someone’s butt-hurt feelings. $60,000 that COULD HAVE been used for classroom supplies, learning assistance for at-risk youth, tutors, coats for the needy kids in the winter, enrichment programs, supplemental snacks/food for kids who walk out of the house without breakfast either because their parents really can’t afford to feed them or because they are inept or refuse to care. $60,000 that came out of a SCHOOL DISTRICT that SHOULD HAVE been spent on THE KIDS. But, by all means, this ADULT, a teacher who is supposed to be all about THE KIDS is OFFENDED. This gets me so mad! Put on your big-girl-boy-whatever-“they” freaken undergarments and suck it up and get over yourself. If I were a parent in this district, I would be livid….but then again, we are talking about the Portlandia freak show….

    • GWB says:

      Concur. The money was probably already spent – as in paid for insurance that would pay out in this sort of case. Which means – long term – it cost the district a lot more than $60,000 in premiums.

      As to “should have been spent on the kids” I would argue there’s a case to be made for “should have been returned to the taxpayer”.

    • Anonymous says:

      If I had children in the same school as this loathsome deviant, I certainly wouldn’t feel that they were “safe.”

  • Jodi says:

    I understand Bout the they. But what do students address the former Miss Soell as?the teacher formerly known as Miss Soell?

  • Melissa S says:

    This article and the comments are ignorant and harmful. Leo is a brave human who is an excellent role model for their students. Cisgender and transgender. Queer and Straight. And for those of all religions. Period.

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