An Irish preparatory school is being slammed by parents and students after they told female students they were banned from wearing track pants and leggings, The New York Post reported.
Presentation College Carlow located in Carlow, Ireland just south of Dublin, reportedly told female students during a school assembly that they were no longer allowed to wear clothing items such as leggings and track pants, the NY Post reported.
Over 5,000 people have signed a petition criticising a secondary school in Co Carlow for telling female students not to wear tight clothing, as it can be a distraction for teachers | More: https://t.co/o4ckaxbCU4 pic.twitter.com/XbdzHeLcyZ
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 24, 2020
A petition has been started blasting the schools policy.
“Today all the girls from each year in Presention [sic] College Carlow were called out by their Year Head/Dean of discipline and were told that they were not allowed to wear leggings or tight bottoms for PE as they cannot show off the ‘female anatomy’ as it is distracting to the female and male staff of the school- not the students,” the petition reads.
“This is appalling, majority of students are 12-18 years old and should not feel [sic] sexualized by their teachers who they are meant to feel safe around,” the petition continues. (RELATED: School Reopenings Haven’t Led To COVID-19 Outbreaks Yet, According To Early Evidence)
The petition also addresses that male students were not talked to about their clothing choices.
One parent was told by school administrators that her daughter could not wear clothing that showed ankles, knees, or collarbones, the NY Post reported.
“If these so-called male teachers can get distracted by 12-to-18-year-old girls, they should not be teaching,” one parent said. “We are trying to bring our children up in a way that they are not ashamed of their bodies; we are trying to teach our young men that just because she wears this doesn’t mean she wants that.”
So far, about 6,700 people have signed the petition.