A Florida high school drew flak for editing the yearbook pictures of its female students by covering up their chest areas without their consent. Reportedly, the Bartram Trail High School made changes to the pictures of 80 students.
Defending the school's action Christina Langston, school district spokeswoman, said that the school's yearbook coordinator, Anne Irwin, decided that the "photos were out of dress code and did some of the editing."
Clothes Added to Chest and Shoulder Areas
The yearbook priced at $100 left many parents and students of the northeast Florida based high school when they saw the heavily edited pictures of the students.
The badly edited images carried patches of clothes to the chest and shoulder areas of the female students, sparking the debate that the school has stricter rules for the girls.
USA Today reported that the school's website mentions that all student pictures in the yearbook "may be digitally adjusted" if they don't conform to the school district's code of conduct.
Speaking to the outlet Langston said, "Bartram Trail High School's previous procedure was to not include student pictures in the yearbook that they deemed in violation of the student code of conduct, so the digital alterations were a solution to make sure all students were included in the yearbook."
Parents Say School is Body Shaming
Claiming that the poorly edited pictures have left her daughter embarrassed, Adrian Bartlett mother of a student said that it sends the message that "our girls should be ashamed of their growing bodies, and I think that's a horrible message to send out to these young girls that are going through these changes." Coverings were added to the edited pictures of Bartlett's daughter.
Claiming that the poorly edited pictures are causing other students to make fun of them, freshman Riley O'Keefe told News4Jax, "There's a black box over my chest and the cardigan on the side is like moved over and it looks really awkward and I was very confused."
Insider reported that following the outcry the over the photo edits, the St. Johns County School District has said that it would issue refunds, provided that the yearbook is returned.
