Students accuse high school of body shaming following a 21-slide presentation on ‘acceptable’ prom attire
‘One girl wearing one dress is not the same as another girl wearing the same dress’
Students at Boylan Catholic High School in Illinois are accusing the school’s administrators of body shaming girls following a 21-slide presentation given to them regarding appropriate prom attire.
The prom dress rule book is under scrutiny because of slides that imply the same dress, while acceptable for one girl, may not be acceptable on another due to her body type.
Boylan senior Alex Symonds said the teacher giving the presentation made an insulting remark about girls with supposedly inferior body types. She told babe the teacher said, “one girl wearing one dress is not the same as another girl wearing the same dress.”
According to the guide, dresses should not have necklines low enough to show cleavage and the skirts of the dresses should hit below the mid-thigh. The slideshow also explains that dresses with high slits and exposed backs or stomachs are not to be worn, and are deemed as inappropriate attire for prom.
The guide argues, “some girls may wear the same dress, but due to body types, one dress may be acceptable while the other is not,” insinuating different standards would be applied to girls with different figures.
Throughout the 21-slide presentation, 11 slides are dedicated to photographs with examples of dresses that are “acceptable” and “unacceptable.”
Disappointed with their school’s 21-page dress code, four Boylan seniors, Miles Coulahan, Noah Justice, Dan Lake and Ben Calkins, created a Twitter account which promotes a non-school sanctioned prom.
They told babe that although they are used to strict dress codes, they were shocked at the presenter’s “comment that some things people wear are not okay for other body types, despite different dress sizes.”
They also said that the giving separate assemblies were given to boys and girls was “offensive.”
Of the 21 slides, only two slides were dedicated to the male students’ dress code — in total, the slides contain one sentence and four pictures.
In comparison to the portion of the presentation dedicated to ladies, the dress code for gentlemen contains no derogatory statements about their bodies, just examples of formal evening attire.
The president of the private Catholic school, Amy Ott, made it known the dress code was not new and that the students were presented with a similar guide last year. She told CNN: “It was developed two years ago by a committee made up of teachers and students who consulted dress codes that existed at other Catholic schools across the country.”
Ott reasons that parents find the dress code helpful while shopping, since it allows them to be sure that whatever is picked “is both elegant and appropriate.”
“As a private Catholic high school, we adhere to teaching our students moral values which include modesty,” said Ott. “We want all students to feel beautiful in what they wear while also adhering to our values as a Catholic school.”
Coulahan, Justice, Lake and Calkins have exceeded their initial goal of $2,500 on GoFundMe to provide a venue, DJ, photographer, and photo booth for their alternative prom. After 12 days, the campaign raised $2,625, and because they surpassed their goal, students will be able to attend the #MORP at no cost.
They told babe they planned the event “to provide everyone at our school with the opportunity to have a great prom where they are free to wear what they feel comfortable and beautiful in without the stress of adhering to the guidelines.”
Featured image does not depict students at Boylan Catholic High School.