Patrice Brown is a fourth-grade teacher in Atlanta, Georgia. While she is normally dealing with young children and a system that severely undervalues teachers, she is now coping with people around the world ridiculing her body and the way she dresses.

The hashtag #TeacherBae went viral on twitter, and pictures of Brown inside of her classroom were posted all over the internet. Why? Mostly because people were offended by her curvy body.

This obviously isn't the first time that a woman's work is trivialized due to hypersexualization, but that doesn't make it okay. Women in education- both students and teachers- are shamed for their attire regularly, whether it's because their shoulders are showing or because they have shorts on, this distracts teachers from teaching and students from learning. The ironic thing about Brown is that in the pictures she is fully clothed, so it's not necessarily her clothing that people are upset about; it's her body shape. While body shaming is gaining awareness and body positivity is emerging, women, particularly women of color, are still being sexualized in the media, which not only objectifies their bodies, but it also undermines their accomplishments and the advancements that they are making.

A lot of the tweets that were critiquing Brown's body stated that she was dressed inappropriately for being around young children, boys in particular. People were worried that the boys may get distracted, and not be able to control their thoughts or their learning. However, that's not on the teacher, it's on the way that we socially condition our boys to think of women's bodies for their own amusement, and that they have to be attracted to women. Boys do not have to be these monsters that society makes them out to be, and they are all capable of learning even with an attractive teacher. Let's take the blame off the shape of Brown's body and place it on how parents raise their children.

Another thing to note is that attractive male teachers trend without receiving scrutiny. They are not told to stop wearing shirts that showcase their muscles or that they look too inappropriate to be teaching. It also isn't assumed that they will be a distraction to female students, particularly because girls are raised to respect men.

I hope Brown knows that her attire and her body are not offensive; it's society that is offensive. Her body does not undermine her value as a teacher. In a world where teachers nor women in some professions are appreciated, I appreciate you.