Credit, Personal collection
Riley is one of the students whose picture has been changed
In an annual book of 80 students at a school in Florida, she is being criticized for turning up photos of her breasts and shoulders covered. No picture of a male student has been changed – whether they appear shirtless or just in swim trunks.
Some photographs of the students were digitally corrected, with clothes “enlarged” to cover parts of the body that were on display. Some of the edits were done so poorly that they also made jokes that also turned into mimes.
School officials told local media that changes were made to ensure that the photos matched the dress code, which says the girls’ shirts should be “unholy”.
But photographs of the male student have not been edited despite violating the same standards.
Students say digital changes were made without permission.
The coordinator of the Bartram Trail High School annual book – a teacher – decided to edit the photos after determining that they had violated the dress code.
A term of responsibility on the Bartram Trail website alerts students that photographs in the annual book can be digitally edited to fit the dress code.
But some students find the changes problematic and accuse the school of having matches.
“There are different patterns [para homens e mulheres] In the annual book, where they see our bodies [feminino] And consider that a small skin has a sexual meaning, “15-year-old student Riley O’Keefe of Bartram Trail told WJX News television.
“But when they see the boys, swimming team photos and other sports photos, they think everything is fine, and it’s really annoying and uncomfortable.”
Credit, Getty Images
Secondary schools in the US often have an annual book with photographs of students and activities
In a statement to WJAX News, officials said the school’s previous policy was to remove all photos that violated the dress code. The changes to this year’s photographs were made to ensure that all students are included in the annual book.
Following criticism, Bartram Trail, a public high school with about 2,500 students near Jacksonville, said it would reimburse parents troubled about the changes. The annual book is priced at US $ 100 (approximately R $ 530).
The district dress code for the 2020-2021 school year states that girls’ tops and shirts must “cover the entire shoulder” and be “polite and not revealing”. “Excessive makeup” is not allowed and all students are prohibited from wearing “extreme hairstyles”.
On Twitter, journalist Joe McLean wrote: “All of these photos appeared in Bartram Trail High School’s annual book, but only one was digitally altered because the annual book coordinator believed it was the students’ ethos Violates the code. In total, 80 photographs were ‘adjusted.’ In the annual book, they accompany all the female students “.
The application of the dress code varies between schools according to the district.
The application of these rules by Bartram Trail sparked a local controversy earlier this year when 31 students received information that they had violated the dress code in a single day. Many students, ages 15 to 16, said at the time that they were asked to open their sweaters and jackets in front of teachers and other students to see if the tank top or bra were down.
In response, Riley created an online petition for a change in the dress code, which she says is “clearly based on the sexualization of young women”. With the code again making national headlines, the petition already has more than 5,000 signatures.
The American school dress code has been criticized in recent years. Some people believe that these codes embarrass women and girls on their bodies.
A 2018 study in Washington, DC by the National Women’s Law Center shows that black girls and large-bodied students were disproportionately targeted.
Riley’s mother, Stephanie Fabre, told the BBC that the incident “caught the attention of something that shouldn’t have become a problem”.
She says, “Nobody would have seen that year’s book and these pictures and thought of nothing but beautiful young women from the ninth year.”
“Some of these edits have caused intimidation and emotional tension in some of these girls, because their photos were so poorly done in Photoshop that they are now being used as meams and circulating on Snapchat , And it’s terrible. “
Fabre said some families are demanding excuses from the school, changes in dress code and re-issue of annual books with original photographs.
But not all parents are against the rules. A mother, Rachel D’Aquin, told WJAX News that she had approved the edits.
“If parents don’t teach at home how their daughters should dress and how to dress, the school has to act like a parent.”
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