Parents' fury after school edits daughters' cleavage from yearbook
A Florida high school has been blasted by parents for editing the yearbook photos of 80 schoolgirls to cover their chests - despite them wearing permissible clothes.
The badly airbrushed photos from Bartram Trail High School's yearbook caused outrage among parents who questioned officials' apparent over-sensitivity.
The school thought the girl's outfit to be "inappropriate" and took it upon themselves to edit the photos, said a board spokesman.
Now some parents are demanding an apology, according to Action News Jax.
“Our daughters of Bartram deserve an apology,” one mum said. “They are making them feel embarrassed about who they are.”
The school edited the yearbook pictures of the girls but left pictures featuring boys wearing Speedos unedited.
Riley O'Keefe, a ninth-grader whose picture was digitally altered int he yearbook to make her outfit more conservative, said that the school's action made girls feel uncomfortable.
“You’re not only affecting their photo, it’s not just for protecting them, you’re making them uncomfortable and feel like their bodies aren’t acceptable in a yearbook,” O’Keefe told Action News Jax.
The school approved O'Keefe's outfit before taking her yearbook photo and confirmed that her clothes complied with the school's dress code, but still edited her picture.
Other parents are also dealing with the same issue as they criticised the school’s dress code policies, according to Action News Jax.
“I felt confident that day and I looked good, in dress code,” nineth grader Zoe Iannone told Action News Jax.
“When I sent it to my mom and all of us saw it, I felt very sexualised, like that was what they were worrying about,” she added.
The school said it will refund the students’ money if parents are not pleased with the yearbook.