It’s astonishing how some people are allowed to be in charge of the well-being of our children. Some people are wondering how a South Carolina high school has put someone who body shames students in charge.
Stratford High School Principal Heather Taylor has recently come under fire for projecting bodily insecurities and biases from her own mind onto her students.
According to News 2, she basically told students during two separate assemblies for ninth and tenth-grade students that they look fat if they wear leggings and aren’t a certain size.
So, not only is an authoritative figure sending this negative message about what women should and should not wear to young girls who already have fragile self-images, she is also sending this message to the boys who will now hold women to these ridiculous standards.
Here’s what she told students during her talk on the dress code, according to ABC 11:
“(Leggings are) meant to wear underneath a long shirt that covers your heiny, or a long sweater of some type, or a dress. It is not meant to be your actual pants, and if you have a shirt that comes to here, then you are showing everything. Yes, everything.”
Not only did she sexualize the female bodies of students insinuating that they were showing “everything” which is something indecent and to be ashamed of, but she went even further in her rant to fat shame.
In her school of thought, it’s more important how other perceive you than if you’re happy and comfortable in what you wear.
“The sad thing is with that, ladies – if someone has not told you this before, I’m going to tell you this now – unless you are a size zero or a two, and you wear something like that, even though you are not fat, you look fat.”
Apparently, her male students were not subjected to shame, ridicule, or rules about their bodies and clothing choices.
The Strafford High School community caught wind of Taylor’s insensitive and hurtful comments and pushed back. There were tons of angry comments on the school’s Facebook page and the story has since gone viral.
“I’m not a size zero and I kind of felt targeted because of my size,” Stratford High Sophomore Allison Veazey told News 2.
Veazey said the comments were hurtful.
“I felt like my size made me look disgusting towards someone in the clothes that I wear,” she said. “I wear leggings outside of school and I wear leggings when I go and hang out with my friends, and to think that someone would think that I look like a stuffed sausage – that was kind of hurtful.”
According to Scary Mommy, parent Lacy Thompson-Harper, whose daughter is a sophomore, said that Taylor basically called her students liars when Thompson-Harper called to address the situation, in addition to making a ton of excuses.
“My daughter is in 11th grade and is livid,” Thompson-Harper said. “She has been ridiculed by students for her body and shouldn’t be subjected to it from teachers.”
She says that Taylor eventually agreed to issue an apology by the end of their conversation.
“Is this enough? I don’t know,” she told Scary Mommy. “But, I feel that parents need to know what was said by a woman who is an educator and is supposed to be a role model for these kids. Right now, I’m a very angry parent, with a very angry daughter.”
Without acknowledging what she actually said or why it was damaging to her students, she issued a statement which wasn’t actually an apology in order to save face.
“Yesterday and this morning, I met with each class of the Stratford High School student body. I addressed a comment made during a 10th grade assembly and shared from my heart that my intention was not to hurt or offend any of my students in any way. I assured them all that I am one of their biggest fans and invested in their success. After speaking with our students and receiving their support, I am confident that, together, we are ready to move forward and have a wonderful year. Stratford High is a very caring community, and I want to thank all of our parents and students who have offered their support to me and provided me with an opportunity to directly address their concern. I am very proud to be a Stratford Knight.”
It’s one thing to make a mistake. It happens. We’re human. But to not take responsibility or the time to understand why this can be hurtful to the children in your care is a whole different story which is why some are calling for her resignation.
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