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A representative of the school district in Madison, Wisconsin, where Claude goes to school before his transition into Poppy. Penn and Rosie meet with Ms. Revels, as well as the school principal, Dwight Harmon, and Claude’s teacher, Miss Appleton, when Claude decides to start wearing a dress to school. Ms. Revels is only concerned with Claude’s pronouns and which bathroom he will use, and she tells Penn and Rosie that Claude must use the nurse’s bathroom from now on. When Claude is caught using the boys’ bathroom, Ms. Revels calls Penn and tells him that Claude has to decide which gender he is. She says if Claude is a girl that’s fine, but if he is just a boy in a dress, than he is “disruptive” and must dress “normal.” Ms. Revels’s treatment of Claude and his family amounts to little more than discrimination, and it represents the discrimination that many LGBTQ adolescents face in schools.
Victoria Revels Quotes in This Is How It Always Is
The This Is How It Always Is quotes below are all either spoken by Victoria Revels or refer to Victoria Revels. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part I: Naming Rights
Quotes
“Meaning if he thinks he is a girl, he has gender dysphoria, and we will accommodate that. If he just wants to wear a dress, he is being disruptive and must wear normal clothes.”
“I’m not sure either Claude or I even understand the distinction you’re making up as you go along here,” said Penn.
“It’s confusing,” the district representative acknowledged, “for Miss Appleton and for the children and clearly also for Claude. No one knows how to treat this child. Do we say he or she? Does Claude line up with the boys or the girls? Why is his hair still short? Why hasn’t he change his name?”
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“He cannot be all of the above in kindergarten, and he cannot be none of the above in kindergarten. In kindergarten, a child can only be a he or a she, a boy or a girl. Kindergartens are not set up for ambiguity.”
“Maybe they should be,” said Penn. “The world is an ambiguous place.”
“Not for a five-year-old. For a five-year-old, the world is very black and white. It’s fair or it’s unfair. It’s fun or its torture. There are not disgusting cookies. There are not delicious vegetables.”
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Get the entire This Is How It Always Is LitChart as a printable PDF.
Victoria Revels Quotes in This Is How It Always Is
The This Is How It Always Is quotes below are all either spoken by Victoria Revels or refer to Victoria Revels. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part I: Naming Rights
Quotes
“Meaning if he thinks he is a girl, he has gender dysphoria, and we will accommodate that. If he just wants to wear a dress, he is being disruptive and must wear normal clothes.”
“I’m not sure either Claude or I even understand the distinction you’re making up as you go along here,” said Penn.
“It’s confusing,” the district representative acknowledged, “for Miss Appleton and for the children and clearly also for Claude. No one knows how to treat this child. Do we say he or she? Does Claude line up with the boys or the girls? Why is his hair still short? Why hasn’t he change his name?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“He cannot be all of the above in kindergarten, and he cannot be none of the above in kindergarten. In kindergarten, a child can only be a he or a she, a boy or a girl. Kindergartens are not set up for ambiguity.”
“Maybe they should be,” said Penn. “The world is an ambiguous place.”
“Not for a five-year-old. For a five-year-old, the world is very black and white. It’s fair or it’s unfair. It’s fun or its torture. There are not disgusting cookies. There are not delicious vegetables.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
