A Florida high school came under fire for releasing a prom dress reminder. Students complained its dress code was sexist and the reminder also came out a little too late. The school issued an apology to students following the uproar.
Stanton College Prep in Jacksonville Florida will hold its prom on Friday, March 31. The school released the prom dress reminder via posters and flyers on Monday, March 27. By then, however, most of the girls already have their dresses prepared.
The reminder featured photos of four types of prom dresses. Three of those photos featured girls wearing revealing clothes. Its caption read: "Going to Stanton Prom? No, you're not," as per Huffington Post.
One prom dress, on the other hand, featured a girl showing little skin or cleavage. This photo was captioned: "Going to Stanton Prom? YES, you are. Good girl."
Good thing they told us a week before prom it's not like everyone has their dress already....... pic.twitter.com/3nOKhSTu4R
— Lily (@LILwillingham) March 27, 2017
Students stormed social media to complain about the prom dress reminder that went viral. Some said it was a form of slut-shaming. The label "good girl" also reinforced a damaging stereotype, as per Cosmopolitan.
One student said her prom dress' doesn't pass the standards because its backside was open. But the student said she is still planning to wear the dress, which she bought this three weeks ago for $500, on Friday night.
Another student said the prom is one of the few times girls get to dress up in high school. Some girls draw confidence from the dresses they wear even if this means showing some skin.
Following the complaints, Stanton College Prep administrators issued an apology. "Our intent is to make sure prom is enjoyable and memorable," the principal said in a statement, as per Action News Jax. The school district also said they did not approve the photos used in the poster and flyer, hence the notices were taken down.
