A Texas high school principal has issued an apology after a video highlighting the school’s dress code featured only girls — in a move many criticized and called sexist.
Principal Will Skelton of Marcus High School sent an apology letter to parents after the Flower Mound school came under fire for the video, which officials intended to reinforce the school’s dress code policy, according toABC News. In the letter, Skelton acknowledged that the “video absolutely missed the mark.”
In the video, a group of girls are shownwalking the school’s hallsin shorts and T-shirts before a teacher is shown ushering them into a room for “Dress Code Violators.” Rapper M.I.A’s 2010 track “Bad Girls” is heard playing in the video’s background. While in the room, the girls are heard repeating in unison, “I will not wear athletic shorts.”
“Today my school was shown this video,” one student, Catherine Moring,wrote alongside the video in an Aug. 16 Twitter post. “So sad how ONLY girls are shown as the violators. I understand why my school has a dresscode, but what about the boys who wear shorts, or show their shoulders? It’s 2018…Why are we still over-sexualizing teen girls?”
Moring continued: “I’m just trying to address the blatant sexism and bring to light an issue that affects not just girls at marcus, but high school girls across the nation!”
The tweeted video has been viewed more than 285,000 times and retweeted 2,400 times.
Moring told ABC that she had no problem with the school creating a video to highlight the code, but took issue with the contents of the clip.
“Not only were there no boys but there were no people of color, plus-sized individuals or people that identify as gender non-binary; all people who wear athletic shorts,” she said.
Skelton issued the apology just one day after the video was shown, and Moring applauded the principal’s act on Twitter.
“I have so much respect for@Marcus_HSprincipal Mr. Skelton. Today he had an important conversation with me about the issues in the video, and was fully understanding of where the offended female student body was coming from,” shebegan in one tweet.
“Not only that, but he issued an apology to not only the students, but to parents as well. He made it clear that this issue was a MISTAKE, which doesn’t define marcus as a whole. This problem is beyond just the four walls of my high school.”
Skelton noted in his letter that the video was created in lieu of the school’s usual orientation fashion show.
Skelton did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.
source: people.com
