Girl Accuses School of Body Shaming for Ban on Short Shorts

A teenage girl who was suspended from school recently for wearing denim short shorts has publicly challenged the school dress code, declaring it sexist.

Lindsey Stocker, an 11th-grader at Beaconsfield High School in Quebec, Canada, says that she and several female classmates were asked to stand up for an outfit inspection during class. The girls were instructed to put their arms by their sides so school officials could assess whether the bottom of their shorts or skirts lined up with their fingertips. If their fingers reached beyond their hemlines, the girls would be considered in violation of the school's dress code.

"When I started explaining why I didn’t understand that rule, they didn’t really want to hear anything I had to say, and it was in front of my entire class. I felt very attacked … and I wanted to tell them how I felt," Lindsey told Canadian news outlet CBC. "They should approach it in a way that doesn’t target girls at least — for starters — because that’s the first problem. They don’t really care what guys wear. They just kind of target the girls first."

After Lindsey failed the inspection, she left class and printed 20 sheets of paper that read, "Don’t humiliate her because she is wearing shorts. It’s hot outside. Instead of shaming girls for their bodies, teach boys that girls are not sexual objects.” Then she posted them around the school. Administrators removed the signs a short time later and sent Lindsey to the principal’s office, where she was given a one-day suspension. While the exact reasons for the suspension are unclear, according to Canadian radio show CJAD, it was for “multiple infractions.”

The school's website states that students are prohibited from wearing short shorts or skirts, halter tops, visible underwear, low-riding pants, clothing that’s torn, and anything that shows “excessive” cleavage or midriff, among other banned items.