A Catholic girls' school has been accused of sexualising its pupils after teachers demanded photos of the girls' prom dresses.
Staff from Mary MacKillop College in Brisbane, Australia, wrote to parents informing them that prom dresses would need to be approved by the school before the event.
The email said that photographs of every dress needed to be sent to staff so they could be vetted.
The email asked parents to share a photo of the prom dress or suit via a Microsoft Form so staff could check them out, according to The Courier-Mail.
Students were reportedly told they had to wear formal attire with no plunging necklines or low backs below the waist, with images of both appropriate and inappropriate dresses circulated via email.
One pupil has revealed that many girls had their dressed turned down by school staff before last Saturday's event.
“We get it thrown in our face that we will ‘make the male teachers uncomfortable’,” she told The Courier-Mail.
“We had the same conversation for our Grade 11 semi-formal. They’re legitimately sexualising 14- to 17 year-olds.”
One parent said that pupils are expected to dress "prim and proper" due to it being a Catholic School, Yahoo News reports.
In a statement to The Courier-Mail, Mary MacKillop College denied that there was a process in place to approve dresses.
Parents have since taken to social media to discuss the issue of approving formal dresses, something that's understood to be common in Australia.
One parent wrote: “Think that’s bad? Call out King’s Christian College, they give the girls a PowerPoint presentation on what shapes they are and what dresses ‘suit’ their body shape. Fat shaming 101."
Another, meanwhile, wrote: "The problem here is not the dresses but that apparently male teachers cannot keep their eyes to themselves, and control their urges."
While a third said: "Will we ever evolve past this abhorrent victim blaming culture?"
