D’Iberville High School – Photo by Tim Burkitt / FEMA via Wikipedia
A Mississippi high school is facing backlash after a Facebook post celebrating the salutatorian of its 2026 graduating class referred to the transmasculine student by his deadname and appeared to digitally alter his face to make him appear more feminine.
The post, published May 17 by D’Iberville High School in Biloxi, Mississippi, congratulated student Jonas Hole on his achievement. The accompanying photo showed Hole in his U.S. Army Junior ROTC uniform.
“Pride. Tradition. Excellence. Congratulations to our DHS Salutatorian,” the post reads, using Hole’s deadname.
“[Y]our success is a reflection of countless hours of effort and a heart committed to achieving your goals,” the school’s post continued, again referring to Hole by his deadname. “Warrior Nation celebrates you today and cannot wait to see all the amazing things your future holds. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor!”
The post quickly drew criticism, generating more than 13,000 comments and more than 100 shares. Many commenters accused the school of transphobia for deadnaming Hole and alleged that officials edited his senior portrait before posting it online.
“They photoshopped his mustache off to make him look more ‘feminine,'” wrote one commenter.
The backlash also renewed criticism over allegations that several students, including Hole, were excluded from the school’s yearbook for failing to comply with gender-specific dress requirements for senior portraits.
Tara Shay Montgomery, a Biloxi drag queen and local LGBTQ advocate, told The Advocate 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 six students excluded from their senior yearbook due to gender specific dress code policies,” Montgomery said. “Then the Jonas post from DHS dropped and one of the same moms shared it with me and my stomach dropped in anger disgust and sadness for him.”
Montgomery shared a selfie Hole had posted — which appeared similar to the one used in the Facebook post — showing him in his ROTC uniform adorned with medals, ribbons, and other honors earned as a “superior cadet” and member of the sabre team and color guard. The image clearly shows Hole’s mustache, which appeared to be missing in the version posted by the school.
“You’ll notice that his mustache has been edited out to look like a shadow and his lips have been pinkened,” Montgomery told The Advocate.
While a few Facebook commenters praised the school for referring to Hole by his deadname, the overwhelming majority referred to Hole by his preferred name and criticized the school for its treatment of the student.
“Dude’s name is JONAS,” wrote one person.
“No excellence here until you start calling people by their real names. you can still edit this to make it right,” commented another user.
“Imagining diminishing a child’s accomplishments like this,” wrote another.
D’Iberville High School officials have not publicly commented on the controversy. The post with the allegedly altered photo remains live on Facebook, although the school has limited who can comment on it.
A Florida man has been charged with a hate crime after allegedly beating a 5-year-old boy for "being gay," leaving the child with severe injuries.
According to a news release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Andre Brown Jr., 33, of Davenport, Florida, was watching three children when a 9-year-old girl texted her mother to report that he was physically abusing them.
"I'm scared, he's whooping him so hard, I'm scared," the girl allegedly texted her mother about the treatment the 5-year-old was receiving.
"Team DC is the network of LGBTQ+ sports in the D.C. metro area," says Miguel Ayala, president of the nonprofit, which has served as the umbrella organization for LGBTQ sports since 1990.
"We represent over 49 different teams and leagues -- everything from kickball, football, and volleyball, which are some of our larger groups, to things like birding, rodeo, and billiards, and even recreational or group activities that you might not think of as sports," he says.
The organization serves as a resource for LGBTQ sporting and recreational groups, helping them navigate the logistics of running a league -- everything from establishing bylaws and a governing board to setting up a website and social media accounts to promote schedules and off-field events like social mixers or fundraisers.
Colorado has approved a bill allowing survivors of conversion therapy to sue licensed providers regardless of when the therapy occurred.
The measure, sponsored by State Reps. Alex Valdez (D-Denver), an out gay man, and Karen McCormick (D-Hygiene), along with Sens. Lisa Cutter (D-Littleton) and Kyle Mullica (D-Northglenn), allows people subjected to sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts to sue licensed mental health professionals for damages. Entities that hired or supervised providers engaging in conversion therapy could also be sued.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.