Mom praised for calling out double standard of schools not enforcing masks but keeping ‘misogynistic’ dress code

Comments come amid fierce debate surrounding face coverings for children as nations cases surge

A mother in Tennessee has been championed online after she hit out at her daughter’s school district's policy on masks, pointing out the “misogynistic” double standard for girls’ uniforms.

In a post circulating on social media, a woman who has chosen to remain anonymous appears to crticise Hamilton County School District for having an “opt-out” policy surrounding face coverings.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that the school district will require students to wear masks indoors for the fall semester but that parents can exclude their children from the requirements.

Making a point in a purported email to the board, the mother said that if parents should be able to opt out of school mask-wearing they should also be able to opt out of its “misogynistic” uniform policy.

“I am writing to request the parent opt-out form to opt out of the school dress code,” she wrote in the email. “I find the school’s dress code to be misogynistic and detrimental to the self-esteem of young women.”

The parent says that “rather than shaming young women” she believes schools should “empower female students to have agency over their own bodies”.

“In light of the opt-out option related to the recently announced mask mandate, I can only assume that parents are now in a position to pick and choose the school policies to which their child should be subject,” the mother writes.

“As someone who holds a strong commitment to my feminist ideals and my desire to raise my daughter to be a strong and empowered woman able to make choices for herself, I find that the school’s dress code policy does not align with my belief system.

“I therefore intend to opt out of this policy and send my daughter to school in spaghetti straps, leggings, cut offs, and anything else she feels comfortable wearing to school.”

The parent told RawStory that her aim was to draw attention to her view that setting blanket standards for children based solely on the belief systems of those who oppose masks is hypocritical.

“While I disagree with the dress code policy, I’m not really in this to fight that policy,” she told RawStory. “My goal is to draw attention to the importance of mask usage in our schools.

She added: “But I’m up for fighting the dress code once we get the mask issue taken care of!”

The mother was praised online for drawing the comparison, one which many critics of such opt out policies for masks have echoed in recent days amid fierce discussion around the issue.

“Kudos to this Chattanooga mom telling a Tennessee school board that her daughter is now opting out of ALL school dress code restrictions,” nonprofit executive Mark Elliott wrote.

“If schools can police my daughter’s spaghetti straps, they sure as hell can require masks,” another woman said on Twitter.

Those who support the opt-out policy, or disagree with mask mandates altogether, say that parents should have the right to make decisions regarding their children's health and wellbeing.

The tension surrounding masks in schools comes amid a surge of coronavirus infections across the US as a result of the more transmissible Delta variant with the new wave set to coincide with the new school year.

While children are significantly less likely to become severely ill from coronavirus infection and are likely to experience mild symptoms they are not immune to the virus.

Children’s hospitals in coronavirus hot spots such as Arkansas and Florida are seeing a concerning increase in minors being hospitalised with the disease.

In Florida, despite surging cases, governor Ron DeSantis previously banned state schools from enforcing mask mandates and has since said school leaders’ could see their salaries withheld if they implement them.

The Independent has contacted the Hamilton County School District for comment.