West Point Highschool was built 1935, 86 years ago. There have been many changes in the world since then, and it perpetually changes still. Yet, an old way of viewing and judging individuals in our community has not changed since then.

My friend on October 20, 2021, 18 years old, was taken out of classes, because she was wearing a corset. She wore the corset over a red velvet shirt, and a leather jacket over the entire outfit. Our principal, counselor, and office faculty had said her corset was too "form fitting".

Earlier this month, my little sister(above), 14, was also pulled out of classes for wearing a corset over a long sleeve, and a cardigan sweater(to wear during classes where it is often very cold). These same adults had said my little sister was dressing in a "vulgar fashion" and that school was for focusing on "math, science, and english- not men". My sister, who can't even get a DRIVING PERMIT was sexualized by men and women who are close-minded to her interests and intents, and had aggravated her before hearing what she had to say. Corsets were created in the 1800s as an undergarment, made not to entice men or sexualize their bodies, but to instead straighten their posture and better shape their own bodies.

"Even as many of us are still staying largely indoors this summer, there’s one fashion item that seemingly everyone is wearing: the corset. In 2020, the corset trend relates to a return of both boudoir dressing and cottage-core romanticism. Celebrities including Kylie Jenner, Keke Palmer, and Rowan Blanchard have all worn the corset in the past few months, and likewise, fashion insiders seem to gravitate to the garment after months and months of sweats, seeking out structure and the effect of feeling dressed up again.The obsession with the corset started to peak in 2019, when celebs ranging from Lizzo to Rihanna and Bella Hadid wore different iterations of the garment. For the Fall/Winter 2019 fashion season, designers including Simone Rocha, Etro, Dion Lee, Sacai, and Burberry all showed their own iterations of the corset, solidifying its place in modern fashion history." This is by Kristen Batemen, a writer on https://www.thezoereport.com 'Why Corsets are Having a Moment in 2020' This being as recent as 2020, just last year after our lockdown from Covid-19, as not one, but of many articles going into the newest fashion statements in the United States and how they are relevant today. It's not just articles or news that is responding to these trends, companies like Levi's are creating products to appeal to these trends to the point it's nearly all women can find when they step into a clothes store.

As time goes on trends change, wearing a corset or ripped jeans is not out of the norm, it is in fact a fashion statement. It isn't the 1930s anymore, yet, Cullman County Schools have been targeting beautiful young girls who are told to be independent and confident in life, and telling them that dressing up makes her "vulgar" and too scandalous for school. They're holding on to rules and codes that aren't adaptable or flexible enough to follow the trends of the present time, and are hurting girls confidence, and marginalizing girls because they haven't opened hearts or minds to fashion, modern or not.

This cannot keep happening to West Point students who aren't violating any rules, yet being nitpicked on subtle outfit changes. BOTH GIRLS HAD COVERED THEIR SHOULDERS, STOMACHS, AND LEGS ENTIRELY.

Are girls who are beautifully made be forced into straightjackets to hide their natural bodies? Or are those too promiscuous on us too?