Outrage as female students told tight leggings 'distract' teachers

Over 6,000 people have signed a petition in outrage after female students at a school were reportedly told not to wear tight clothes to PE class as it’s ‘distracting’ for teachers.

According to the Carlow Nationalist, students in Presentation College Carlow in Ireland were told that tight leggings were too revealing and made teachers feel ‘uncomfortable’.

The publication reports female students were also told in an assembly not to roll up their skirts or tighten their sweatshirts as it showed off too much of the female anatomy, leaving the students feeling “degraded, paranoid, violated, disgusted and unsafe”.

Male students were reportedly not spoken to about their clothing choices at all and now many of them plan to wear leggings to school in protest of the rule imposed on their female classmates.

Speaking to Newstalk, one parent was fuming at the school for ‘body shaming’ the female students.

"I'd like to see the school offer now an apology and retract what they said to the female students,” the woman said.

"If they wanted to enforce the dress code, they should have spoken to all students: male and female".

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An online petition, which already has over 6,000 signatures, called the move ‘appalling’ and called out the double standard in male students being allowed to wear tight clothing to class.

“Why should female students feel oppressed over a body part that everyone has?” the petition said.

One person who signed the petition wrote: “Stop making girls and women responsible for the inability of (some) men to control themselves.”

Another person wrote: “I am absolutely disgusted that in this day and age women are still being treated this way.”

“I feel this attitude towards women's bodies belongs in the 1950's. The Male staff attitude towards those in their care is the only problem here,” a third wrote.

“I'm signing this because in 2020 we shouldn't tell schoolgirls not to wear tight clothes in case it distracts grown men,” another person wrote.

In a statement released on their website, the school wrote: “The rules concerning the correct wearing of our school uniform have not changed since previous years, other than the introduction of a half-zip top for First Year students this year.

“Students are regularly reminded of school rules and regulations at Assembly.

“The school continues to look after the pastoral care needs of all students through its excellent Pastoral Care/Student Support systems in the school.

“Any queries in relation to the above from parents or students will be dealt with in the normal way through the usual school channels.”

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