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| The photo that went with the story from the news and the Mom's Facebook (source link below) |
Sources:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10214700047427665&set=a.1638108265422&type=3
https://www.yahoo.com/news/teen-suspended-wearing-ripped-jeans-male-administrator-said-needed-consider-male-students-hormones-175046125.html
Today I was clicking through a quick news articles and saw one that caught my eye. The high school daughter had worn a pair of jeans with a rip. In the knee. Yep, the KNEE. And although ripped jeans are against dress-code and the daughter shouldn't have worn them because of the rip...in the KNEE... the male administrator who came to the classroom during a quiz to reprimand her, called her out for not considering BOYS and their hormones when choosing her wardrobe.
Ummm... really? If a bare KNEE is going to get their hormones raging, I think that's their problem not hers. But anyway; here is part of the story and I'll tell you afterwards why I found this so funny.
The mother of a teenage girl who was suspended for wearing ripped jeans is accusing her daughter’s high school of sexism.Once upon a time I was a teenager.
Melissa McKinlay, the mayor of Palm Beach County, Fla. took to Facebook to express her frustration after her daughter received a dress code violation for wearing ripped jeans to school.
“In the middle of a quiz in her IB History class, a male administrator came to (the) classroom, told her she needed to consider the guys in her class and their hormones when choosing her wardrobe,” McKinlay wrote.
The Forest Hill High School teen was given an in-school suspension for the remainder of the day. She missed her classes and was unable to finish her quiz.
“I’m sorry but EXCUSE ME? Perhaps she should have worn a different pair of jeans,” McKinlay continued. “But why should she have to worry about dressing a certain way to curtail a boy’s potential behaviour?”
ALSO SEE: High schooler gets told to put on a bra ‘so guys don’t stare’
This incident is just one of many where school staff punish and sexualize teenage girls under the guise of protecting them from male attention.
“A boy’s potential inability to control his hormones warrants my daughter’s inability to attend her classes today and miss valuable curriculum?” the outraged mom continued. “A male administrator yanked her out of a classroom because of a damn KNEE? Did he pull the boys out who were wearing shorts? They have TWO knees showing?”
McKinlay went on to accurately accuse the school of “sexism, victim blaming and girl shaming.”
The upset mother also said that she understood if her daughter was given a dress code violation for the ripped jeans, but the reason the administrator gave her daughter was inappropriate.
“If she needs a lunch detention for being slightly out of dress code, so be it.” She said. “But this? No. Not an appropriate response. EVER.”
Mayor McKinlay attempted to set the record straight, and once again reiterate that her daughter should not have been told to consider her male classmate’s hormones when dressing.
“The lesson I taught her, as I have done countless times to women across this county thru my advocacy, is if a boy were to ever hurt her, harass her, assault her or rape her, it is NOT her fault and her outfit is NEVER to blame,” she said in a Facebook post. “I remain absolutely unapologetic for the life lessons I’ve taught her. And it is a shame the media and members of the public fail to recognize why I was upset. Imagine someone basically telling your child that if she was raped, it was her fault because she wore ripped jeans.”
And it just so happens I'm a kid of the 80's.
And you might remember a certain pop star at the time that was basically my idol.
Samantha Fox.
And you might also recall her jeans with a rip in the bum, featured on her first album.
I not only loved her music, but her style fit my personality as well and sure enough - I did make and wear the ripped bum jeans.
Yes the rip was up that high on the butt.
And YES I wore them to school.
And NO I didn't get in trouble for it... back then schools still had common sense and stayed out of your personal business; like, how you wanted to dress.
As a matter of fact I specifically remember one day (I would have been 17 or 18 at the time) I had a pass from class to go somewhere (don't recall where) but because it was during class, I was the only person in the hallway, and I had to walk a very long stretch. There were footsteps behind me and a voice chuckled and called out to me something about "You might want to buy a new pair of jeans, I think those have a rip in them!" - Attempting a joke of course.
The funny part of that?
The person walking behind me kidding me about my ripped bum jeans, was our high school Principal.
He laughed. I laughed. Told him I made them myself. We both went on our way.
Pretty much how it should be.
I have a few random old photos on my computer so I went back to see if there were any pictures of me in my ripped butt jeans but I didn't see any. I did however find a couple of my boyfriend-at-the-time-now-my-husband in HIS ripped jeans.
Do you think the administrator of the school would have approached him and told him to think about the girls hormones when he dressed for school?
Another photo of my boyfriend at the time (now my husband) in yet ANOTHER pair of jeans... which he wore to school that day. Because in 87, 88, 89 and 90 we bought new jeans and immediately added bleach to the wash water and got out the scissors to cut those babies up! Ripped jeans (with rips anywhere we wanted them) were 'the look'.
Even at school.
