Girl Protests Shaming For Wearing Shorts, Plasters Note Around School, ‘Teach Boys That Girls Are Not Sexual Objects’

When a school in Canada ordered a student, in front of everyone to leave and change her clothes, the girl protested shaming in retaliation. Eleventh grader Lindsey Stocker wasn’t about to stand for humiliation in front of her peers for wearing shorts, according to the National Post.

Obviously, school officials at Beaconsfield High School in Quebec felt they had good reason to embarrass Lindsey for donning “short” shorts.

Stocker recalls:

“They continued to tell me would be suspended if I didn’t start following the rules. When I told them I didn’t understand why I had to change they told me that it doesn’t matter – I don’t have to understand the rules, I just have to comply by them.”

Stocker was singled out in front everyone in her class, saying:

“In front of all my peers and my teacher they said I had to change. And when I said no they said I was making a bad choice. They kept shaking their heads. In front of everybody.”

What did Lindsey do next? The girl protested shaming and ridiculing girls for what they wear by printing out letters to post everywhere around the school.

The letter reads:

“Don’t humiliate her because she’s wearing shorts. It’s hot outside. Instead of shaming girls for their bodies, teach boys that girls are not sexual objects.”

After the student plastered 20 letters around the school for all to see, they were removed within 10 minutes. This was when Facebook and Twitter helped spread the message she was trying to get out.

Speaking with CBC as well, Lindsey shared her story :

“People are being judged for the way they dress, they have to change because boys look at them. The boys should be the ones who have to learn to treat women better and look at them in a different light.”

A male student at Beaconsfield High School supported Stocker, saying:

“If she doesn’t have the right to cool herself down that way, then how else is she supposed to keep cool in 30-degree weather?”

Stein Day, who’s a member of the school board, believes the general message Lindsey was emphasizing about boys not sexualizing girls. She has one reservation about how the girl went about her protest against the shaming experience:

“I like that she’s sticking up for herself, but I think there are more positive ways to achieve your end goals and to make your point. She could have written a project about this, she could have written an essay about this, she could have presented to her classmates and the administration.”

Do you believe Lindsey’s protest was out of line? This could spark discussions about boys being taught in school to view girls in a different way — other than being a distraction depending on what they wear.

[Photo Credit: Peter McCabe / The Gazette]