For all kids, back to school means back to loads of homework, boring math teachers, book reports, science projects and being confined under your school's infamous dress code policies. We have all heard about how ridiculous school dress codes can be in the way that they are geared more towards girls than boys, but how far will an administration go to make sure that their rules of "appropriate" attire are thoroughly followed?
Outraged uncle, Robbie Nettles makes a post on Facebook to show the injustice that his 9-year-old niece faced when she was forced to stay within in-house suspension because of her attire. "Does my niece's round belly OFFEND you?" asks Nettles. He then posted two photos of his niece in her outfits that the school administration deemed to be inappropiate under the school's strict dress code.
Ask yourself, do you find anything wrong with this young girl's clothing? Typically, dress code policies enforce that a student has AT LEAST a 3-inch sleeve, fingertip length bottoms, and shirts that do not expose any middrift at all. However, the school felt as though the girl's shirt was too "form-fitting" due to her size.
"Unfortunately, another girl with the same body type in her class received the same treatment," states Nettles, "the second outfit was also not satisfactory. If the school is so concerned with their student's appearance, they should implement school uniforms. Dress codes are open for interpretation and abuse. This abuse was demonstrated by the faculty at Brookhaven Elementary School. Does this punishment seem appropriate to you?" He also ends his post with "#9yearoldbodyshaming."
In response to this incident, let us ask ourselves at how young are children affected by the cruel world of body shaming. I have experienced body shaming since I was in kindergarten whether it was through bullies at school, the latest fashion trends that I know my body could not pull off, or the media telling us that our bodies are more important than what is in our minds. Growing up, this made me extremely self-conscious. Sadly, this happens to millions of girls at young ages no matter what size they are.
In a recent FCKH8 video, young girls dressed as princesses tackle the topic of feminism and how sexism causes girls to think and feel a certain way. "Society teaches girls that our bodies, boobs and butt are more important than our brains" is a quote taken directly out of the video that shows that girls are noticing how society often values a woman's figure over what she is capable of as a human being.
A girl could be at the top of her class in the running for valedictorian and be president of her school's top academic club, but instead she dwells on the fact that she is not "good enough" based on the societal standard of "beauty" because of what she has been taught since she was a little girl. Therefore, Robbie Nettles' niece had received the message, whether or not it was intentional by the school's staff, that the way her body looks is to be focused on more than what could be going into her brain. Absolutely disgusting.
