Is Illinois Catholic School's Prom Dress Code Body Shaming?

ROCKFORD, IL — An Illinois Catholic high school's lengthy prom dress code has drawn accusations of body shaming due to its restrictions for girls.

Boylan Catholic High School drew fire after issuing a 21-page prom 2017 dress code focusing on modesty and mainly aimed at girls, stating, "Some girls may wear the same dress, but due to body types, one dress may be acceptable while the other is not."

A body image expert from the University of Florida told the Rockford Register Star that the policy amounts to body shaming and is discriminatory to girls.

"Girls do not have a choice in how their bodies were made so more voluptuous bodies are going to have more cleavage and curves," Robyn Goodman told the newspaper, adding that it sends a damaging message to teenage girls. " ... Telling one girl she has to restrict her body by only wearing certain fashions and telling another her body is fine for any fashion is sending a message about what is the 'right' body to have and what is the 'wrong' body."

The guidelines, posted to the Catholic school's website, have just one rule for boys, plus a one-page photo spread: "Young men are expected to wear formal evening attire that would include a tuxedo, suit with a tie, or sport coat and slacks with a tie."

Fifteen additional pages are dedicated to nine separate rules (plus photos) for girls' attire. The rules prohibit female students from showing cleavage or their navel, and require that skirts reach mid-thigh. Slits higher than the knee are banned, and two-piece dresses are allowed if the space between the top and bottom measures less than two inches. Cutouts in the cleavage area are banned, and cutouts on other parts of the dress must be covered by mesh.

The restrictions caused some to question why all the responsibility for modesty is being placed on girls. "Maybe Boylan Catholic HS should teach boys to act properly," said one Twitter user, who called the rules insulting to girls.

Another accused the school of body shaming:

The prom dress code also states, "Dresses should not be excessively tight," and notes that girls who arrive wearing dresses that don't meet the dress code will not be permitted to wear coverups over their clothes. Last fall, several girls did just that when their dresses failed to meet Boylan's homecoming dress code, according to the Register Star.

Senior girls were reportedly given a pre-prom presentation on appropriate attire for the dance. Boylan Catholic High School President Amy Ott told the newspaper the guidelines were put in place to help girls, not hurt them.

"Modesty is admittedly a subjective interpretation, but one which we have a duty to uphold. Students should therefore error on the side of modesty and formality and not put school administrators in the difficult position of upholding school standards," the dress code notes.

Girls who are unsure if their dress is acceptable are instructed to show a photo of themselves in the dress to faculty members for approval.

The school said those who do not abide by the dress code will not be admitted to the dance or given a refund for their tickets.

Read the full dress code here:

Screenshot via Boylan Catholic High School prom dress code presentation