NY Orders Female Clothes For Trans Juvies

A decision to provide women's undergarments to transgendered prisoners in New York state juvenile detention facilities is causing an outcry from jailers.

The state has quietly ordered male-only juvenile detention centers to keep bras and panties in stock for transgendered delinquents - angering many jail staffers. Each facility must stock a dozen bras and panties of each size in case they are requested, employees said and agency officials confirmed. Girls' centers also must stock men's underwear.

Two longtime employees of the agency ripped the policy, saying they fear it promotes an alternative lifestyle in order to accommodate a minuscule population. "People are appalled," one employee said. "The vast majority of kids in here don't fit the category and want nothing to do with this." The second employee said it would have made more sense to phase the policy in rather than enact it all at once.

"I'm dealing with predominantly inner-city kids from gang neighborhoods; there's a lot of other battles and issues I need to deal with," he said. The state Office of Children and Family Services order is part of a policy quietly enacted in response to a lawsuit. In addition to keeping "gender neutral undergarments" in stock, facility staff must call transgendered youths by their chosen, rather than their legal, names.

Those boys who believe they are girls also must be called "she" by those at the facilities, while girls who believe they are boys must be called "he" under the policy. Transgendered kids in the system can shower privately, shave body parts, use makeup and grow their hair long. Some can request to be transferred to a facility in upstate Red Hook that has housed a number of transgendered kids, officials said.

Sigh. According to the story, there are only about 20 transgendered prisoners in the state's 30 juvenile facilities. Exactly how is this hurting anybody?