Young students across the nation are beginning a new school year just as the Delta variant of the virus that's killed over 600 thousand Americans continues to surge across the country.
Despite the increased threat the variant poses to children, a number of school districts have opted not to enforce the wearing of masks during in-person learning, despite their proven effectiveness and despite the ineligibility for children under 12 to get the vaccine.
Now, an email from an outraged Tennessee mom to her school board is going viral for her takedown of the school board's optional mask policy, but mandatory—and misogynist—dress code.
EMAIL FROM CHATTANOOGA MOM TO @hamcoschools (Chattanooga): \u201cSince you made the mask policy optional, I intend to opt my daughter out of the dress code. Please make note.\u201d @NoogaHollerpic.twitter.com/Xvv26Q1Vnm— The Tennessee Holler (@The Tennessee Holler) 1628769881
The letter reads in part:
"As the parent of a daughter at East Hamilton, I find the school's dress code policy to be misogynistic and detrimental to the self-esteem of young women. Rather than shaming young women into covering their shoulders (and other parts of their body), I believe we should empower female students to have agency over their own bodies and to wear clothing that is comfortable for them and contributes to their ability to enhance their learning experience."
That's when she went in for the kill:
"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. 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."
With the same determination as the anti-maskers who have become all too familiar since the pandemic upended daily life in the United States, the letter emphasizes to the officials that the daughter is "not, under any circumstances, to be dress coded."
People cheered the clever callout.
A whole word!https://twitter.com/thetnholler/status/1425790340183859204\u00a0\u2026— Melissa Murray (@Melissa Murray) 1628860473
Well, this is pretty powerful.https://twitter.com/thetnholler/status/1425790340183859204\u00a0\u2026— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sherrilyn Ifill) 1628857845
Moms of the \u2018Noog, doing me proud ::wipes away a lil tear of pride::https://twitter.com/thetnholler/status/1425790340183859204\u00a0\u2026— Cherie Priest (@Cherie Priest) 1628821587
This parent is the hero we need at this moment.https://twitter.com/thetnholler/status/1425790340183859204\u00a0\u2026— Greg Castanias (@Greg Castanias) 1628798212
I could not possibly love this more, and I want to seek this parent out and be best friends. \nMake one policy \u201coptional,\u201d and the others don\u2019t see quite so required, now do they?https://twitter.com/thetnholler/status/1425790340183859204\u00a0\u2026— Cara (a woman from Michigan) (@Cara (a woman from Michigan)) 1628794619
A big ol' tip of the hat to this parent!https://twitter.com/TheTNHoller/status/1425790340183859204\u00a0\u2026— Jennifer Binis (@Jennifer Binis) 1628787072
People praised the woman's parenting skills.
Can this lady be my mom?https://twitter.com/TheTNHoller/status/1425790340183859204\u00a0\u2026— AMA loves Salem (@AMA loves Salem) 1628786648
Early front runner for Mom of the Year. This is brilliant!https://twitter.com/thetnholler/status/1425790340183859204\u00a0\u2026— Danny Zuker (@Danny Zuker) 1628786567
This mom is my new herohttps://twitter.com/thetnholler/status/1425790340183859204\u00a0\u2026— Belinda Rolicheck (@Belinda Rolicheck) 1628787808
We hope to have an update on how the school board responds.