Don't get me wrong, I wholeheartedly agree that what's considered "fashionable" these days is way too revealing. But that's my personal preference and style. I also think that younger girls, high school seniors in this case, should aim for classy looks with their prom dresses over sexy and revealing. But that's my personal opinion. Neither of these personal preferences should be forced upon anyone else, or much less used to belittle other women with words like "good girl" just because they have a different idea of fashion than I do.
The way Stanton went about this is appalling. The poster went viral to the point where several national news broadcasts covered the story.
"Good girl"? Excuse me, these ladies aren't dogs. While I understand that schools might want to have uniforms and other fashion standards, getting girls to wear less revealing dresses to prom isn't in their jurisdiction. Prom is off school grounds and if their parents are fine with paying for a revealing dress, then the school needs to be fine with it too. How does not wearing a certain style of clothing make someone a "good girl" or otherwise? Women, of all ages, should be free to wear or cover up whatever they want! The poster caused such national stir the school issued an apology on their Twitter account.
Despite the school apologizing and bringing down the poster, the response they received wasn't the most positive and some of those who took the time to reply had some very valid points.
Women's fashion has inarguably become more revealing over the years and this trickles down to teenagers and high school students. If Stanton was looking to create consciousness in their female student body that they don't need to be revealing to be sexy, they certainly went about it the wrong way. You simply cannot tell women of any age what to wear.
Teachers should be influencers through positivity and encouragement, not through force and belittling. Build these girls up from the inside to feel strong and valuable despite their attire, to love their bodies and walk into a room feeling like a queen no matter what they wear. That's the job we have when take on teaching rolls. And if we do that and she still wants to wear a high slit or low back dress, that's not any of our business!