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Potential Cons: The TGE singer may feel isolated or with their friends, learn new skills, and make treasured
excluded from their friends and peers, rooming with memories. It’s up to you to help make that happen.
siblings or family can create its own unique challenges
that do not arise with non-family members, and the Melanie E. Stapleton (she/her) is a doctoral student at
singer may feel embarrassed about the situation. The Northwestern University, pursuing a PhD in music stud-
director may also have to navigate the cost difference ies with a specialization in music education and holds
for this option as well. an interdisciplinary certificate in gender and sexuality
studies. She is the founder of Blurring the Binary (www.
blurringthebinary.com).
Rooming Option #5: The TGE singer rooms
with others who are TGE or LGBTQ+ identify-
ing. NOTES

Pros: The TGE singer still gets to experience all the so- 1 Melanie E. Stapleton, “Teaching Transgender Students in
cial benefits and elements of the trip, they will be with the Music Classroom,” accessed December 27th, 2023,
other people like them, the room will more than likely www.blurringthebinary.com
feel safe and welcoming, there might be no cost differ- 2 Trans Legislation Tracker, “2023 Anti-Trans Bills Tracker,”
ence to worry about, and parental conversations may accessed December 27, 2023, https://translegislation.
be easier because of the similarities in situations. com
3 PFLAG, “PFLAG National Glossary,” https://pflag.org/
Potential Cons: Students may feel alienated or “othered” glossary/
from the rest of the choir; there could be accusations 4 Dillon E. King, “The Inclusion of Sex and Gender Beyond
of impropriety; parents, guardians, or administrators the Binary in Toxicology,” Frontiers of Toxicology, no. 4
could express discomfort at having a room just for LG- (2022), doi: 10.3389/ftox.2022.929219
BTQ+ students; and the director may encounter law/ 5 Roi Jacobson and Daphna Joel, “An Exploration of the Rela-
policies that prohibit this option. The director may also tions Between Self-Reported Gender Identity and Sexual
have to navigate a cost difference depending on the Orientation in an Online Sample of Cisgender Individu-
number of people in the room. als,” Archives of Sexual Behavior 47, no. 8 (2018): 2407,
doi: 10.1007/s10508-018-1239-y
6 Caroline Anders, “Tennessee Drag Ban is Unconstitution-
Conclusion al, Federal Judge Rules,” The Washington Post, June
You may have noticed that nowhere in the rooming 3, 2023, accessed December 27, 2023, https://www.
options provided is an option for the TGE singer to not washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/03/tennessee-
go on the trip. I do not believe it is ethical to discour- drag-law-unconstitutional/
age, dissuade, or forbid a singer to have the same expe- 7 Jo Yurcaba, “More than 1 in 8 LGBTQ People Live in
rience as the rest of the ensemble simply due to their States Where Doctors Can Refuse to Treat Them,”
gender identity. Most TGE singers already have to deal NBC News, July 28, 2022, accessed December 27, 2023,
with discrimination and marginalization in their lives. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-
As their choir directors, it is our responsibility to take wellness/1-8-lgbtq-people-live-states-doctors-can-refuse-
the initiative and put in the extra work that is needed. treat-rcna39161
Educating yourself and working with your TGE sing-
ers to develop a plan that meets their specific contex-
tual needs will ensure that your trips are successful ad-
ventures for all of your singers and not just some. TGE
singers deserve to have the chance to sing in new places

CHORAL JOURNAL November/December 2024 Volume 65 Number 4 59