Most nine year olds worry about toys and playmates and whether or not they can watch the latest Disney film over the weekend. After all, they are children living out their blissful childhoods.
The last thing they need to worry about is their physical appearance and how their body is being perceived by others, things that are at best superficial.
But for one school, it is apparently of grave importance—going so far as suspending two of its students for wearing clothes in “violation” of school’s rules and regulations.
The offending pieces of clothing? A completely reasonable, if a little tight-fitting, T-shirts.
Now one of the student’s uncle is speaking out against the suspension on his personal Facebook page.
“It sickens me to imagine my sweet niece going to a school that cares more about her weight than what’s in her mind,” Robbie Nettles writes. “They could have made her wait for a new outfit in the office. Instead, she was sent directly to ISS.”
“The second [girl’s] outfit was also not satisfactory,” he says. “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? #9yearoldbodyshaming”
Read the full Facebook post on the next page!
Thankfully, the Facebook post received an outpouring of support from other people, leaving their own encouragements on the comments section.
One, an alumni of Brookhaven Elementary School, offered his support, saying:
“The school district needs to find something else to do besides picking on a innocent young girl. Its sickening that the school district I once attended is all about money and who you know in Brookhaven these days.
“This is targeted bullying in my eyes and needs to be addressed. Money talks in Brookhaven. Teach the children and stop trying to target certain individuals. Brookhaven school district you should be ashamed. If it was your child how would you feel.”
Another user writes: “This is a shame that they care more about her attire than her education. No child should be singled out and sent to iss for something that is ridiculous as such. I don’t see anything wrong with her outfit neither one of them.”
It’s a sad reality that we live in an image-obsessed world, a world where supermodels with skinny bodies reign supreme, and anyone who doesn’t fit that standard are ostracized.
We need to change this destructive culture and promote the idea that people come in all shapes and sizes, and that as long as they’re being healthy, they should feel comfortable in their own skin.
The last thing we want is to raise kids suffering from unnecessary body image issues just because they don’t look a certain way.
READ: Obama on his daughters’ body image: ‘It helps that Michelle has ‘curves’
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