A lot of kids today get flack for living their lives out loud on social media, but millennial posts are not all frivolous, silly, or pointless. Sometimes young people use social media to make some important points and speak up about real issues they face in a way that no other generation has been able to do. In this way, social media is actually pretty cool – it gets people to LISTEN UP.
On Oct. 27, Carey Burgess, a senior at Beaufort High School, posted on Facebook about a dress code incident in which she had been involved. In her post, Burgess claimed an administrator saw her outfit and said, “Your skirt is too short. You need to go to in-school suspension and then go home.” As someone who went to an all-girls school with a very strict dress code for seven years of my life, I can definitely say I’ve been there, and it does not feel good. If handled incorrectly, being called out for you clothing can be unbelievably embarrassing, especially for a teenager.
Here’s how Burgess responded:
I gotta admit, I loooooveee her sarcasm. She reminds me of myself at a young age – pissed off at the patriarchy and eager to fight back.
Burgess told The Huffington Post she has witnessed similar dress code incidents in the past, including a girl “sobbing as she left class, humiliated that she was sent out to change from a skirt and high socks to [B]ermuda shorts.”
In her post, Burgess doesn’t just talk about the dresscode issues, but also sheds light on other sexist issues the students of Beaufort High School are faced with. She said, “Other remarks like, ‘It’s because you’re a girl,’ or ‘We need a boy to be partners with this girl so she’s not lost,’ are fairly frequent in the classroom. Usually I laugh it off or roll my eyes, but one person can only bear so much for so long.” We don’t blame her. Those kinds of bullshit attitudes can really wear on a woman.
According to The Huffington Post, Burgess does believe there are some cases in which administrators should deal with students who break dress code rules, but the majority of dress code incidents “are petty and take away from learning.” The real issue she has with the administration is that they fail to prioritize education. She said, “These dress code incidents tell young women and men that what they are wearing is more important than their education.” Preach.
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