A school in Florida in the United States digitally retouched photos in the end-of-year book of several dozen teenage girls whose cleavage was too pronounced.
The photos of at least 80 young students of Bartram Trail High School would have been touched up, parents told The
New York Times
.
Only young girls were subjected to such a correction.
The high school girls and their families asked for an apology this Saturday after discovering the photos modified in an attempt to cover more of the students' bust.
Riley O'Keefe, 15, said her surprise quickly gave way to anger.
“They have to understand that this encourages girls to be ashamed of their bodies,” she denounced.
Feeling of being sexualized
The high school student said that several of her classmates felt sexualized and naked.
No photos of a young boy have been altered, though, including photos showing the teenagers on the swim team wearing swim trunks.
School district official Tim Forson admitted that the decision had not been sufficiently considered.
"There was in no way any will to shame or cause embarrassment in the students about their dress," he said, referring to a "valuable lesson to be learned".
Denounced body-shaming
Several of the 2,500 teenagers studying at Bartram Trail High School said the alterations were not management's first action to control the girls' clothing choices.
Last March, dozens of high school girls were excluded from classes or intercepted in the entrance hall by supervisors.
They were accused of having violated the dress code of the establishment.
"By practicing body-shaming, the school is failing in its mission to preserve the mental health of our children," said a parent.
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