For decades many people have formed a conception of how females should and should not dress. But who has the right to declare what makes a woman’s outfit“appropriate?” Some believe that females show off too much and it is viewed as a “distraction.” However, males can walk around shirtless outside, even in public places where there are children, as well as wear revealingly tight pants or shorts without any complaints of showing “too much.”
Recently, an Atlanta elementary school teacher was fired after a parent found her personal Instagram to be “too sexy” and provocative. Several of those photos were taken at the Atlanta public school’s 4th grade classroom and the school deemed them to be unprofessional. The hashtag, #teacherbae, began trending as many took a stand to defend the Atlanta teacher. Defending her, they said things such as ‘you can’t hide your curves’ and ‘if a caucasian were to wear the same outfits she would not be seen that way.’
Personally, I am all for a female wearing what they want and showing off what they want because not everyone has it in them to be that comfortable with their body and themselves. If they are confident and want to show it off, all the power to them. However, I also believe in wearing situationally appropriate outfits.
In the case involving the elementary school teacher, I looked through some of her photos and personally did not find her outfits to be inappropriate, with the exception being a single tight dress. Most of the outfits she wore complemented her shape and there is nothing wrong with being an attractive teacher. Looking flattering should not be used against anyone.
I think this accusation was simply an act of pressure from the student’s parents because the school had no problem with what the teacher’s attire, or even the contents on her social media prior to the complaints.
This recent controversy has Early Education major Camille Thomas double thinking her outfits for field more than usual. Thomas considers herself a “curvy” woman and although she shops at places like Banana Republic for appropriate pants and outfits, her curves are still visible. Because of this, she worries about having a similar issue in her destined career field. Like the Atlanta teacher who is in the hot seat, Thomas plans to take photos in her future classroom. And let’s be real, selfies are life!
“I plan to take pictures of myself in my first classroom one day because that is a special moment,” Thomas said. “As long as the kids are not in the picture I don’t think that is a problem.”
Thomas recognizes the importance of situationally appropriate outfits as well as the importance of monitoring the social media content posted by individuals within professional fields. The ability to set your personal page as private is also an option which is what paraprofessional Atlanta teacher did after getting fired.
