Meet Patrice Brown, a fourth grade teacher located in Atlanta, Georgia. A few days ago, the internet was bombarded with debates over whether or not the teacher looked “too sexy” while teaching her students.
Regardless of where you attended school, there was probably some sort of dress code. To this day, dress codes are enforced in most institutions of public and private education on a K-12 level. While these dress codes are not exactly the same from school to school, they usually include something along the lines of not showing too much of your legs or shoulders. Additionally, there is an unwritten set of rules that says female students cannot look too “revealing” in the classroom. Let me provide you with a backstory so we’re all up to speed about what this looks like:
Imagine myself, a carefree seventh grader, walking into English class. I don’t know about your 7th grade class, but mine was filled with flat-chested people who never had to worry a day in their life about being stared at by other peers for having curves. I was one of the lucky few that developed breasts while I was in elementary school and never had to hear “your chest is as flat as your back!” by savage pre-pubescent boys. Anyways, now we’re back in English class. I’m wearing a plain t-shirt. Exciting, right? All of my flat-chested friends wore t-shirts too. After class, my teacher pulls me aside and suggests that I wear something a little more loose-fitting the following day because she noticed that boys were getting distracted in class. Being that I was an insecure 7th grader who had no idea what to say, I apologized and left.
While #TeacherBae and I have different experiences, the incidents both amount to the same issue: the education system is designed to keep males focused, while females are treated as potential barriers to their success. I hope you have gleamed by now that the real issue is not with female students showing too much skin. The real issue is with parents who let their sons grow up thinking that an invitation to objectify a woman is their mere presence in a room. The issue also extends into the school system, where girls are sent home regularly to change their outfits. If you’re a boy, there really isn’t much you can get sent home for other than wearing a shirt that says “I like boobies” on it. Boys will be boys, right?
Wrong. If I could go back in time, my 7th grade teacher would have gotten an ear-full. I would have told her that I don’t deserve the added stress of having to plan my outfits out in advance just so that my male counterparts could further their education without getting distracted by my breasts. I would have also told her that the loose-fitting t-shirts that I found didn’t help very much because some of those boys turned out to be idiots without my help.
Where does this leave you? I have no idea. But I do know that if you have a little sister, you need to tell her these things:
- Her day does not deserve to be interrupted at the expense of a sexist dress code
- Her body is beautiful no matter what shape it takes
- People can only insult her if she lets them
Mic drop.
