I later messaged 16-year-old Kelsea Lafferty to ask permission to use the photo. I also asked her if she created the notice and, if so, what prompted her to post it. She said:
“...I was sent home for wearing leggings because it was apparently a distraction to boys. I was fully covered and I just don't think it's fair...”
She said she didn’t think that what she and most of her female peers were wearing crossed any lines, and yet they were “being punished.”
“Who wants to wear long pants to school while it's a 100 degrees outside? Exactly no one. As long as our butts aren’t showing and our shorts are longer, then what's the problem?”
And she’s right. There should be no problem, but our school system, our sexist culture, our internet misogyny and our society, that lack respect for girls/women—have made it a problem.
Thank you, Kelsea Lafferty, for understanding the strength in your voice and speaking out. And cheers to all the young women who are courageously calling out out sexism, inequality and hypocrisy when they see it. Here’s to the future of American women.