Texas high school causes outrage with dress code video targeting female students in athletic shorts
Schools across the country have found themselves in hot water when it comes to enforcing dress codes and how they punish students who are in violation. The latest controversy concerns a high school in Texas that’s being accused of going too far by producing a video to demonstrate dress code rules to students.
Two students from Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas, took to their Twitter accounts on Thursday to share concerns over the video that was shown in school. While both pointed out that the video featured only female students as the wrongdoers, one got more pointed by calling out the girls’ eerie chanting that was part of the fictitious situation.
our school showed us a dress code video today where it was only girls being dress coded (for wearing nike shorts), and then had to repeat after the teacher “i will not wear shorts” three times… weird? or just me?
— lillian (@lillyjoysparks) August 16, 2018
Today my school was shown this video. So sad how ONLY girls are shown as the violators. I understand why my school has a dresscode, but what about the boys who wear shorts, or show their shoulders? It’s 2018…Why are we still over-sexualizing teen girls? pic.twitter.com/fCXymYAIEG
— cat (@catmoring) August 16, 2018
The video, which was posted by a student who goes by Cat on Twitter, features a group of female students walking through the school in T-shirts, athletic shorts, and sandals, while M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls” plays in the background. When the girls encounter an administrator from the school, they’re brought into a classroom labeled “Dress code violators,” where they’re forced to repeat the phrase “I will not wear athletic shorts” three times.
“So sad how ONLY girls are shown as the violators,” Cat tweeted alongside the video. “It’s 2018… Why are we still over-sexualizing teen girls?”
Plenty of people outside of the student body have also expressed criticism.
That’s pathetic and the song is atrocious! There’s a right way and a wrong way.
— Villalon (@littlenatesmom) August 17, 2018
Completely agree with you! It should have been a kind, informative and inclusive video, unfortunately it was not.
— Monica (@HeyMonica1) August 17, 2018
As a mom, I'm outraged by this video, not by the girls in it, but that a school district would air this, AND how it only shows girls!! Once again, singling out and demaning girls instead of focusing on the real issues of mutual respect for both sexes. Smh…
— Christi Geraci-Beca (@christibeca) August 17, 2018
Has anyone noticed that we live in texas? IT REACHES ABOVE 100 DEGREES HERE! Like do you want us to have a heat stroke, or wear shorts? What are we supposed to do when we drive home in pants, in 100 degree weather? Idk about u but my car is old and my AC sucks, I need shorts! pic.twitter.com/tyA2EIzezX
— Chandler Harbison (@chan_harb) August 17, 2018
It's funny that college girls dress this way every day and it's no big deal. For some reason public school systems love to try to control every aspect of the kids in their schools instead of focusing attention on the real problems.
— Enoughalready (@tarawilkins) August 17, 2018
The school did not immediately reply to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment. But a student from Marcus High shared a screenshot of principal Will Skelton’s response to the outrage in her Twitter replies.
— Monica (@HeyMonica1) August 17, 2018
“There were several items that should have been different, including a better song choice & the representation of boys as well as the girls,” Skelton wrote. “We definitely missed the mark, and will do everything we can to make it right for our students.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
• Teen is dress-coded for a full-coverage outfit and she can’t figure out why
• Teen wearing tank top in 80-degree heat breaks dress code: ‘We’re just asking girls to cover their arms’
• Teens protest school dress code for the right to go braless
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