Student's anger at being sent home from school because her entirely normal skirt was 'too short'

Carey Burgess believes the incident was due to sexism

Carey Burgess was 'left in tears' after the incident ( mynameiscarey/Instagram)

A High School student’s sarcastic response to being sent home by teachers because her skirt was considered too short has gone viral.

Carey Burgess’ picture, which shows her wearing the skirt, has been shared over 10,000 times on Facebook.

In the post, the student body president of Beaufort High School in South Carolina, USA, details the incident and expresses her views on the situation.

 

Today, I wore this outfit to Beaufort High School. About 20 minutes into the day, my friend and I were excused from class to venture to the vending machine because our teacher was planning to do nothing all class period, as usual. On our way back, I learned something very important about myself: I am a whore. As I was walking down the hallway, I heard a voice behind me. "Your skirt is too short. You need to go to in-school suspension and then go home." Thank you, Mrs. Woods. Thank you for teaching me that looking good for school is NOT appropriate. Thank you for letting me know that while I may think that I am dressing up for my Teacher Cadet lesson, I am in fact dressing to go to a night club or the whore house. Thank you for bringing me to tears in front of my friends and classmates because you do not have the decency to pull me aside and explain the problem. Then again, I did not have the decency to put on real clothes today. So maybe I am in the wrong. Maybe our society isn't yet advanced enough to handle 3 inches of my thigh. This is a patriarchal society and I am a woman. I have to be kept in my place, or I may do something that is so rarely seen in Beaufort High School- learn. You saved me, Beaufort High. As Student Body President, junior marshal, and a recipient of the Palmetto Fellows, I was heading down the path of hard drugs (good thing you're testing next year!), strip clubs, and sugar daddies. I don't know where I would be without your misogynistic views. How could I go on without a certain teacher making sexist jokes all class? How could I survive without my science professor letting me know I am an inferior woman? Yes, I am a woman. I am woman with thighs, a butt, and a brain. I am bigger than Beaufort High School. All of us are. Maybe instead of worrying about my skirt, Beaufort High should take notice of its incompetent employees, and sexist leaders.

A photo posted by Carey Burgess (@mynameiscarey) on Oct 27, 2015 at 6:26am PDT

Speaking to Buzzfeed, Ms Burgess said she believed the incident was more to do with casual sexism allegedly from teachers and students than breaking the school’s dress code.

She said: “Usually I laugh it [sexism] off or roll my eyes, but one person can only bear so much for so long.”

In the post, she writes: “So maybe I am in the wrong. Maybe our society isn’t yet advanced enough to handle three inches of thigh. This is a patriarchal society and I am a woman. I have to be kept in my place.”

Detailing how the incident left her upset she sarcastically thanks the teacher for “bringing me to tears in front of my friends and classmates because you do not have the decency to pull me aside and explain the problem. Then again, I did not have the decency to put on real clothes today.”

She also jokes: “Thank you for teaching me that looking good for school is NOT appropriate. Thank you for letting me know that while I may think that I am dressing up for my Teacher Cadet lesson, I am in fact dressing to go to a night club or the whore house.”

The Principal of the school, Corey Murphy told the Beaufort Gazette, Ms Burgess’ post had gone viral due to her being a talented writer. He would not comment on individual discipline.

“She’s a wonderful writer… That’s what it was, you can feel the emotion in her words. Something like that, that’s impressive,” he said.

Ms Burgess told Buzzfeed she had spoken with her principal, who “treated [me] like an adult.”

She also said many students have supported her, saying: “I am proud to have given a platform for so many girls to speak against the system.”