A Mississippi high school faced backlash after a Facebook post congratulated its 2026 salutatorian using his deadname and included a caption celebrating “Pride. Tradition. Excellence.” The student, who identifies as transmasculine, was criticized for being deadnamed publicly. Commenters also alleged the school edited his senior portrait, including removing or altering facial features such as a mustache and changing the appearance of his lips. The post drew substantial online engagement, with many people expressing anger and support for the student. A local LGBTQ+ advocate said parents reported exclusions from the senior yearbook tied to gender-specific dress code policies and later reacted strongly to the post’s content and alleged image edits.
"A Mississippi high school is facing backlash after a Facebook post celebrating its 2026 salutatorian deadnamed the transgender student and appeared to digitally alter his appearance. The post, published Sunday by D'Iberville High School in Biloxi, congratulated salutatorian Jonas Hole with the caption, "Pride. Tradition. Excellence. Congratulations to our DHS Salutatorian," before identifying him by his deadname."
"Many commenters also alleged the school edited Hole's senior portrait before posting it online. "They photoshopped his mustache off to make him look more 'feminine,'" commenter Micheala Boffman wrote. The image clearly shows his mustache, which commenters said appeared missing in the version posted by the school."
"Tara Shay Montgomery, a Biloxi drag queen and local LGBTQ+ advocate, said she was contacted by several parents connected to Hole and other students. "Several concerned moms of friends of Jonas reached out to me initially about a total of around 6 students excluded from their senior yearbook due to gender specific dress code policies," Montgomery told The Advocate."
"Montgomery shared a selfie Hole had posted wearing his U.S. Army Junior ROTC uniform bearing medals, ribbons, and other honors for being a "superior cadet," as well as a member of the sabre team and color guard. "You'll notice that his mustache has been edited out to look like a shadow and his lips have been pinkened." said Montgomery."
Read at Advocate.com
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