And it’s not a culture most women in America – a place where women have struggled for centuries to claim their rightful power–think they’re living in.Īnd yet. But that is not a culture most girls at Bartram Trail High School, at least, thought they were living in (they were, incidentally, in large numbers permitted to sit for school photos in clothes later deemed objectionable). In some religions and cultures, there is certainly an expectation that a woman uncovered is an immodest woman.
The absurd (we hope) extension of this logic, would lead a child bullied for being overweight to understand and accept the taunts of his bullies – maybe even apologize for distracting them and giving them reason to harass him a boy in a “distracting” wheelchair should bow out of attending class at all and those who are different in any way should do what they can to cover up those differences, lest they disrupt the focus of others (as if teens were otherwise models of focus). Teen barred from homecoming dance for wearing jumpsuitīy this argument, a pretty girl should cover her face to prevent boys from staring at her and she be punished if she does not. If they don’t, the implication is, it will be because they were “distracted” by “revealing” clothing. Such imbalance very clearly fails to set expectations for boys, or those overseeing them, to act appropriately and take responsibility for their actions. Dress codes that place more emphasis on what girls can’t wear, and why, teach both girls and boys to oversexualize girls and helps them internalize early on the idea that any girl who defies the rules will be responsible for the behaviors others have in reaction to it. This is, of course, an obvious imbalance and one that would seem to perpetuate a culture of victim-blaming by punishing the (witting or unwitting) distractor and not the distracted. Notably, the words “revealing” or “distracting” do not appear. There is a list for boys, but it’s shorter.
YEARBOOK PHOTOS GIRLS WERE ALTERED HIDE CODE
In this general section of its code of conduct, it is noted, clothing that is “immodest” and “revealing” is prohibited.Īnother section just for girls reiterates the no-bare-shoulders rule, warning that tops must not be “revealing or distracting,” and limits the amount of makeup girls are permitted to wear. Johns County School District, offers general rules for both boys and girls, including restrictions on the lengths of skirts (no more than four inches above the top of the knee) and a ban on bare shoulders. The dress code at Bartram Trail High, a public school in the St. Student dress codes, in general, have been a matter of debate in recent years, with many arguing that policies that disproportionately address girls attire can perpetuate or even encourage discrimination against female students. “The yearbook coordinator made the decision to edit the photos based on her assessment that the females were not in dress code,” a district spokeswoman said in an email to CNN. In this case, it also a record of a larger history that women have struggled against for centuries: enduring misogyny. It offers a physical record of a year in their young lives – a piece of personal history.
It is a place for memories of academic achievements, athletic successes, inside jokes, moments with friends. Lizzo compares negative body comments to mosquito bitesįor many teenagers, the high school yearbook is an important and very special memento. Perhaps it’s time for these educators to study up. Unfortunately, we are learning a valuable lesson in the importance of process and understanding that the intent is not always the result.” “There has never been an intent to embarrass or shame any student for the clothes that they wear. Johns County School District Superintendent Tim Forson seemed to indicate he hadn’t seen this coming. “You’re telling my daughter that she should be ashamed of that part of her body, that she should be covering it up,” one mother said. The students found out about these unreasonable changes – reportedly made by a staffer serving as yearbook coordinator – when the books were released this week and they searched out their photos. This was apparently done to prevent even the possibility of their showing cleavage. In crude digital editing, black bars or cut-and-paste swatches of the teens’ attire were clumsily patched across the chests of dozens of girls pictured in the Bartram Trail High School yearbook. What to make of the digital altering of the yearbook photos of more than 80 girls at one Florida high school?
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