Chip Chick
Ashley’s daughter came home from school last week with a letter from her principal at Southaven Middle School.
The letter talked about the meaning of “body image” in today’s culture and the pervasive adverse effects of “ideal” body shapes and beauty standards.
However, the letter soon turned a corner from healthy encouragement to its own brand of body-shaming.
It provided a permission slip, asking parents to sign that it was okay for the school to provide their daughters with “healthy literature, shapewear, bras, and other products given by the counselors of Southaven Middle school.”
They went on to ask parents to choose a size for shapewear in tops and bottoms and provide their child’s bra size.
Ashley’s mom was rightfully furious and shared her reaction to the letter in her Facebook post.
“So you begin this masterpiece detailing how damaging a negative body image is for girls, how the stress of conforming to an impossible perceived image can adversely affect their mental health, and then OFFER TO GIVE THEM SPANX SO THEY CAN BETTER FIT THE PERCEIVED IMAGE?!?”
The letter addresses the fact that “a negative body image may lead to low self-esteem” and that a young girl “may not want to be around other people or may obsess constantly about what she eats or how much she exercises.”
Facebook; pictured above is the letter
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
