BOWIE, Md. — Parents in Prince George's County called on PTA members to change the name of an upcoming dance to be more inclusive.
Next month there's a father-daughter dance scheduled.
George Ceaser told WUSA9 that gender labeled events cause unnecessary pain.
"It's not even me, it's my son" said Ceaser. He and his husband have a son who attends Whitehall Elementary School in Bowie.
Ceaser says having a father-daughter or mother-son dance is unfair to his family.
"He gets questions of, if you go to the father-daughter dance, well why are you here? But, if we go to the mother-son dance, it's why are your two Dads here. He shouldn't have to go through that, no child should" said Ceaser.
He and Rachael Martin attended the PTA meeting Tuesday night to call on the PTA to change the name of the upcoming dance. WUSA9 was not allowed inside, but is told the PTA voted to change the name to something more inclusive.
Martin's child Xander is non-binary. We profiled Xander a few years ago when they were 10 and first came out as non-binary.
Martin read a message from Xander to the PTA members just before the vote and reminded the members that words matter.
She told WUSA9 PTA's decision is "not enough but it's a good place to start".
To anyone who doesn't understand, she asks that you "think with your heart" and told WUSA9 "you never know who's out there and who needs to hear what words, and words do matter."