A high school principal from Louisiana has requested female students send her pictures of their prom dresses in advance so they can be approved prior to the event.
In a text message sent to students of Shreveport’s Southwood High School, Principal Kim Pendleton cautioned against clothes deemed too ‘sheer or revealing’, as well as those which showed ‘excess cleavage or skin’.
The same rules will apply to girls accompanying male students as off-campus dates. No such guidelines have been given for male students to follow, so we can only assume they will be free to rock up in swimming trunks.
According to this stern text message, as obtained by NBC News affiliate KTAL, only outfits that have been approved by the principal will be permitted at prom:
As you begin shopping for your attire, please make sure you do not purchase any clothes that are sheer or revealing in any manner.
[…] Prior to purchasing an outfit, I will need you to send me a picture of you in the outfit with your name and grade. Once I approve the outfit, you may purchase it. The approved outfit is the only one you will be allowed to wear to prom.
Principal Pendleton, who is a new principal at the school, has since claimed she had received feedback from various staff members and parents who had expressed concern about girls’ attire at previous school events.
In depressingly unsurprising news, there were apparently no issues with any of the fashion choices sported by the boys.
In a statement given to NBC News, Principal Pendleton said:
In communicating the guidelines for appropriate conduct and dress, which are similar to what schools and districts require across the country, a decision was made to proactively work with families to ensure parents would not spend money on a dress which would be turned away for being inappropriate.
At the time of writing, Principal Pendleton has not vetoed any outfits, and has reportedly received positive comments about the decision from ‘parents who are proud of the school for taking a stand to ensure prom is an encouraging, wholesome event’.
However, not everyone has viewed this process as being particularly ‘wholesome’, with some noting a worrying undercurrent of sexism and slut shaming.
One Facebook user commented:
I hate dress codes. They are 99% of the time directed toward girls and imply that boys are innocent little flowers that must be protected from us dirty hoes either that or sex-crazed maniacs that can’t see a bare shoulder without losing all their good sense.
It’s gross and insulting to both genders. If private parts are covered, the rest should be up to the child’s parents.
Another said:
I think that’s going too far. Proms are a special night to kids…you only get to experience prom a couple of times in your life while you’re young and those memories last a long time. Why ruin an important experience by telling these girls how to dress at a dance?
And why is the principal just applying that text to the young ladies? Can the young men dress however they want with no prior approval needed? Sounds a bit like a double standard.
Maybe these high-schoolers…especially the seniors or their parents should organise an anti-prom where the kids can dress how they want too for one special night a year.
Southwood High School students will have a chance to express concerns about the divisive dress code at an upcoming assembly, according to a statement by Caddo Parish Public Schools.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.