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Culture February 21, 2017
The Osakis School Board in Minnesota is requiring girls to submit photos of themselves in their prom dresses for approval if they would like to attend the April 22 event.
Prom co-advisor Bobbie Jo Haakinson said at a school board meeting that the rule is to prevent girls from feeling embarrassed for being turned away at the door if their outfit doesn’t meet the dress code. How thoughtful.
The rule comes after a letter was sent home to juniors and seniors of Osakis High School, explaining the proper dress code for attendees. “Gentlemen” must wear dress pants, dress shirt, sports coat and tie or a tuxedo with dress shoes and socks.
One Minnesota high school’s sexist prom dress code suggested girls send in photos of their gowns for approval before being able to attend the event.
The letter recommends to “ladies” that an acceptable prom dress is one you “would feel comfortable wearing to a formal event at your church.” It prohibits dresses that expose undergarments, have see-through areas or that show the midriff or other “low-cut areas,” though the “no exposed midriff” section has since been eliminated.
Twitter user @reenfran found the prom requirement ridiculous, calling it “title 9 discrimination.”
As you could have probably guessed, the school board is not asking boys to submit photos of their prom attire in order to be admitted, with Haakinson brushing the double standard off by saying, “a tux is a tux.”
A statement was later released claiming the requirement asking female students to submit photos was merely a suggestion, so that they didn’t risk wasting their money on a dress that they wouldn’t be allowed to wear. And many are saying that even finding a dress that meets all of the strict requirements is becoming an issue.
But while Osakis’s prom dress code seems shocking, and frankly, sexist, it certainly isn’t the first school to tell girls that they can’t be trusted to make decisions about their own bodies.
This past April, Cleveland High School in Johnson County, North Carolina released an offensive video asking girls if they are “prom ‘propriate.” The video, presented like a parody of “So You Think You Can Dance” had student judges critiquing a selection of prom dresses.
A third group of dresses featured gowns with a thigh-high slit, an open back and a spaghetti strap number sitting just above the knees. Black censors quickly block out the women’s chests, thighs, and butt in the video, even though the dresses already had them covered.
The sexist video had student judges gagging and flipping over a table after seeing dresses that showed a little skin.
An alarm then sounds, with the judges dramatically flipping over a table to protest the “extremely inappropriate” looks. The video sparked outrage online, with Elizabeth Preston writing on Winning Democrats, “The message sent to these young girls at this school by the barfing reaction to the female form is: ‘Your body is disgusting and you’re less worthy of respect if you show skin.'”
And it’s become somewhat of a trend for girls to take to social media after being sent home or asked to cover themselves up when their dresses supposedly break the rules. For example, in 2015 Gabi Finlayson was “embarrassed” after being made to wear her winter coat for an entire school dance in order to cover her shoulders.
The long, lace dress which she had purchased in Paris on a family trip because it reminded her of her idol, Audrey Hepburn, fell past her knees. She had even had the dress altered to meet the Utah school’s 2-inch minimum strap” requirement.
Gabi Finlayson was embarrassed after being told this dress was “inappropriate” and made to wear a winter coat for an entire school dance.
However, it was still deemed inappropriate. Finlayson’s bad experience led her to suggest, “Maybe instead of teaching girls they should cover themselves up, we should be teaching boys that we’re not just sex objects that you can look at and derive pleasure.”
We think she’s got a point. Dress codes in general are not sexist, but they become so when they focus almost entirely on one sex over another, embarrassing female students for showing literally any trace of skin.
RELATED: Dear Donald Trump, Here’s What It Looks Like to ‘Dress Like a Woman’
Perhaps schools should spend more time educating students on appropriate behavior, instead of just constantly policing girls’ attire.
