There is an interesting controversy out of Wasatch County, Utah where students were surprised when they received their yearbooks and found themselves wearing outfits that they never saw before. The Wasatch High School had altered photos of girls who had too much skin showing, though what was viewed as inappropriate by the local school officials is rather surprising.
Students say that there was no rhyme or reason to the alteration and that half of the girls with tank tops were edited while half were left alone. This includes two girls with identical tops. One was covered up and one was not.
The school however insisted that the girls were warned that outfits deemed inappropriate were subject to editing.
Terry E. Shoemaker, superintendent of schools for the Wasatch County School District, was defiant in the face of claims of arbitrary and conflicting censorship: “We only apologize in the sense that we want to be more consistent with what we’re trying to do in that sense we can help kids better prepare for their future by knowing how to dress appropriately for things.”
Dress codes have always intrigued me in schools and courts. We previously discussed how female lawyers are treated differently from male lawyers in dress codes. I often appear with women wearing open shirts or sweaters where the same choice by male lawyers would result in an expulsion or sanction. When it comes to students, a male wearing the equivalent to a tank top would likely be barred. It is an interesting cultural distinction.
The school’s position is that it is merely trying to teach proper decorum and dress rules. Others have pointed out that this is a deeply religious area. In either case, it appears to have been enforced rather arbitrarily and the question is whether schools should actively encourage (rather than actively enforce) such standards.
By the way, they might want to check out the pictures of a few of the Administrators and teachers for the next round of airbrushing (here and here). Indeed, in covering up shoulders of students, school officials might want to address another misguided female in Washington who appears not to have received the Wasatch School memo on proper dress for official photos:
Source: Fox8
Nick, great story about your Mom.
When I was in school, oh way back when, they told us what to wear for our pictures. White shirts with a circle pin for the girls. One refused to wear the pin and they did let her have her picture in the yearbook. (same for a boy who insisted on a t-shirt)
If they want their students to look a certain way for the pics then they should say “this is what you have to wear.”
Can’t the photographers make a case for copyright violation?
What’s next, airbrushing an inviting smile and flirtatious eyes? A panel of overcompensated, extremely conservative and judgmental administrators making decisions on how a student may appear to the outside world adds more Orwellian flavor to an increasingly Big Brother dominated society. Do not veer outside the lines, do not push the envelope, do not challenge authority, dress to code, do not think critically.
Jamie – the photos are airbrushed to begin with. The studio photographer gets rid of all the facial blemishes before the student sees them.
During the 1940s and 1950s, Life magazine had a specialist who airbrushed the nipples off women in their pictures.
Nick S.:
I loved the story about your mom.
Samantha, wouldn’t it just be easier to focus on a person’s qualifications and not how they are dressed? There is no such place as a “gender-neutral” environment. People cannot turn off their gender, and to focus on that instead of the work seems like where the fault lies. To expect people to be genderless robots creates massive blind spots to human nature.
Because what you are saying sounds an awful lot like, “well she shouldn’t have dressed like that if she didn’t want it.” In this case, “it” seems to be “dismissed.”
Students have historically tried to push the boundaries with their pictures in the annual yearbook. Some years they have more success than others. Since the yearbook represents the school, the school clearly has the authority to do this. In my high school senior yearbook there is a bandmember giving the finger. The administration never caught it, and we never said anything about it. It came up again at our last reunion.
My dad once related to me, back when women were entering the professions in large numbers, how they adhered strictly to Malloy’s “Dress for Success.” That is to say, professional women didn’t show any more skin than male counterparts, even preferring dark clothing to flashy outfits reserved for used car salesmen. Today, however, it’s a far different picture, where too many women think the workplace is a pole-dancing competition. However, successful woman still adhere to Malloy’s code. Female governors, senators and congressional members got were they are by brain power, not by flaunting implants. For young women today, making this distinction would go a long ways towards success in a gender neutral environment.
OMG, we can’t have naked shoulders! What an abomination!
Isn’t this a public school?
Forgot to mention that Mormons also strongly discourage tattoos, and, if someone gets one, it should be covered if possible. Note the first pic, where the tattoo on the girl’s chest was airbrushed out, despite having nothing to do with the superintendent’s proffered excuse of ” how to dress appropriately for things.”
Next up: Soviet-style editing where children you thought existed never did.
This is just the Mormon school officials attempting to enforce Mormon religious rules on the students. Mormon women are supposed to dress modestly and that includes not showing bare shoulders. It would be interesting to see if any photos airbrushed out more than one earring, as that is also looked down upon.
“When it comes to students, a male wearing the equivalent to a tank top would likely be barred. It is an interesting cultural distinction.”
I’m female and I agree that women sometimes get away with murder as far as business dress. However, to apply exactly the same standards to men and women is ludicrous. Yes, men and women are entitled to the same rights. But no, boys and girls are not the same.
In the west, bare shoulders have always been acceptable for women’s formal attire. Bare shoulders have never been acceptable for men’s formal attire. That’s because of culture, tradition, and the differences in physique. If men start shaving their armpits, maybe bare shoulders will become acceptable.
Regarding the airbrushing, I think that it is hilarious that the ultra conservative mindset that generates this attitude is the same mindset that is terrified that the US will institute sharia law.
The superintendent would have a better chance of getting his point across if he paid more attention to sentence structure.
What do you expect from these moral majorist?
While the student is free to have her senior photo taken however she wants, the school is similarly free to present said photo in a more modest fashion in its official school publication.
The only issue I have is that the K-12 public school system in the US does not allow students (and their parents) to freely choose the school they attend. If we had universal vouchers, then the family could choose where the student enrolled and there could be no argument about senior photo editing since a choice was made to attend the particular school (and be subject to its rules).
Kabul, UT.
What would we expect from a very conservative society? At least these Wasatch young women are not wearing face scarfs and being obliged to walk behind the young men!
Women should be chaste. Because we know what happens when they aren’t. They tempt man into raping them, the hussies. Then we must punish them by stoning in the public square in front of the courthouse, preferably by male family members. The uncovered shoulders and bare upper chest will bring down the wrath of God through the actions of the devout. So as a warning to young women in Utah, if you do not heed the adominitions of the holy men, you will be airbrushed out of existence.
As for the arbitrary enforcement of chastity laws, never mind. That’s our call. Women should trust that men will lead them down the path of righteousness.Be good women, you will be honored with a godly husband one day and many children.
The Principal
Were these outfits worn to school for the photos? If so, it is strange that the school seems to be objecting only to the photos themselves. If they truly wanted consistency, they would establish a dress code re school attendance, not just photos. Having said that, in my girls Catholic school of decades ago, the nuns reviewed prom photos for skin and cleavage prior to distributing them to students. I think you eventually got the photos but had to endure a lecture.
God bless my deceased mother. But, she had the best sense of humor and was never bothered when her kids would relate this story. The first Christmas season after my dad died was tough, as holidays always are following a death. So, mom got a temporary job @ a photo processing plant that did developing for major retailers. This was the pre digital age. Mom was assigned to airbrushing. A few rolls came in of a family from India. Mom thought the dot on the head of one woman was a blemish. So, she airbrushed them all out. As you might imagine, the family was outraged. Mom’s boss was understanding and just put her on another task of the developing process.