Students at Waukesha County district schools must show administrators a photo of themselves wearing their planned homecoming dresses before they can buy a ticket to the dance.
The policy is a requirement for any school dance to make sure the students are not asked to leave the event for wearing attire deemed inappropriate, including revealing necklines, showing midriffs and short skirts, according to WISN.
"It's really out of a sensitivity to our students," Pewaukee Superintendent Mike Cady told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We want (school dances) to be a positive experience. We don't want anyone to show up and have to be sent home because of a dress-code violation."
The policy, instated in 2015, was sent in a reminder email Tuesday to families, who see the stringent policy as sexist and an extension of the body-shaming culture.
"The girls are essentially being held responsible for the wayward thoughts (administrators) think boys have," Rebecca Sheperd, whose daughter attends Pewaukee, told the Journal-Sentinel. "They're being told, 'You are the problem.' These are the roots of rape culture, frankly."
The dress code prohibits revealing clothes like tops with spaghetti straps, backless or cover only one shoulder; blouses that do not cover the midriff and shorts and skirts that extend below the mid-thigh.
"It's annoying," student Nicole Stark, who was scolded for the blouse she was wearing, told the Journal Sentinel.
"Guys wear tank tops all the time and don't get dress-coded.”
Sheperd, supports a dress code but thinks the photograph requirement for attendance eligibility is too much.
"They're being told we can't trust you to make a good decision, so we'll make that decision for you," she said.
"There should be a better way, though I'm not sure what that would be.”
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