It All Started with Riley O’Keefe
Reporter Ben Ryan posted a picture on Twitter. It was a picture of Riley, who was 14 when the picture was taken. The picture showed two yearbook photos of Riley, an original one she took and the other photo, which was the one that made it to the yearbook.
Source: BenRyan/Twitter
It was a photoshopped picture where Riley had a box in her chest and a weird-looking cardigan effect. “The picture looks really awkward, and I was very baffled,” Riley said in an interview with the local news.
Commending and Condemning
The photo Ben posted got a lot of responses. He added more pictures, as many parents were complaining bitterly. They didn’t like that their daughters’ photos were altered in an endeavor to make them more decent.
Source: BenRyan/Twitter
Over 60 pictures were edited, and they were all females. While some parents commended the school for making girls look modest, others cried foul. They said the school rule would make the girls ashamed of their changing bodies.
A Textbook Double Standard
After a long time of silence, the school eventually replied and said they had laid down rules and written down regulations that students were supposed to adhere to. The students and parents, however, said they didn’t flout any rule.
Source: BenRyan/Twitter
Many people wondered why the students were allowed to take the pictures in the first place. Others wondered why the school never complained about the same dressing on other days. They told the school to leave the double standard in the past.
Appeasements and Refunds
After a lot of pressure, the school explained in a post that a female teacher solely edited the pictures with the help of two students. They said there was no order from above. They claimed it was done that way because they didn’t want to leave any student out of the yearbook.
Source: BenRyan/Pinterest
To appease parents, they offered a refund for the $100 book, provided they returned the yearbook no matter its state.