School offers girls shapewear as part of session on healthy body image

[PurgatoryOfPotholes]

A school sent home a consent form about an initiative to promote healthy body image in teenage girls at the school. The inititive asked parents to consent to their daughters being given shapewear.

We, the counselors of Southaven Middle School, would like to have an opportunity to offer some healthy literature to your daughter on maintaining a positive body image. We are also providing girls with shapewear, bras, and other health products if applicable

The options on the returns slip are:
Yes, my daughter may receive the healthy literature, shapewear, bras and other products give by the counsellors of Southaven Middle School. She will need the following sizes

Shapewear (Top) [followed by list of sizes]
Shapewear (Bottom) [followed by list of sizes]
Bra Size [followed by a line to write-in]

And

No, my daughter may not receive the healthy literature, shapewear, bras and other products give by the counsellors of Southaven Middle School.

I can certainly see why a school might ask if they could provide teenage girls with bras, but shapewear?

Article here: edition.cnn.com/style/article/shapewear-middle-school-girls-wellness-trnd/index.html

Whaaat? I don't understand why they think this is printing a healthy body. How utterly bizarre.

It was probably a promotional event that the school was getting paid for. Tampax did them in the UK for years - I have no idea if they still do. Paid promotions are rife in US schools.

WTAF????

They can fuck off with this BS.

Bit of a contradiction, surely?

Shapewear hardly promotes a positive body image.

Can't help wondering what exactly is meant by 'shapewear'

How the fuck did giving them shapewear help them with a healthy body image?!

Wtf do they even mean by 'shapewear'? They're saying that the answer to girls worrying about their 'body image' as to physically coerce themselves nearer to some 'ideal', aren't they? That certainly sounds diametrically opposed to a healthy attitude.

Bras, otoh, and particularly good, well fitting supportive sports bras can definitely contribute to real health by enabling exercise. But they need to be fitted, writing down what the girl or parent thinks is the right size may miss the mark.

They need firmly challenging about this no doubt well meant but misguided initiative.

WTF? This is the US, yes?

Is shapewear a euphemism for binders? I can’t imagine any school thinking Spanx were a necessity but if this is a way for them to provide binders by a back door route by dressing them up as a way for girls to feel less self conscious it would make sense. I think it’s abhorrent of course but more in keeping with teen culture than a waist trainer for example.

This is in the US, but even so it's bonkers.

I can't imagine it helps anyone's confidence to have to return a form that has your specific clothes size on it to be given clothes that are meant to change your body shape.

The answer to girls with negative feelings towards their bodies is not to give them bloody "shapewear".

Your figure is not pleasing on the eye, kindly modify it for my viewing pleasure. There's a good girl.

Yep, it's the US. Mississippi. I should have said! Sorry.

But what happens there often ends up happening here a decade later, so I'm concerned.

What a world to have brought a daughter into. I despair.

Why can't they just be told their body is fine as it is

That's insane.

The title of the letter is bad enough. As a pp said, it's probably linked to one company promoting their stuff. Shapewear for insecure teens, gawd.

For something like this, where there's unlikely to be any local laws which make any difference, it doesn't really matter where the school is, does it?

@ErrolTheDragon

For something like this, where there's unlikely to be any local laws which make any difference, it doesn't really matter where the school is, does it?

In so far as if this was the UK I'd be taking action about it, it makes a difference.

Well, yes. But MN does have US members, perhaps there will be some who may be willing and able to challenge this sort of thing.

@RoyKentsChestHair - I was wondering the same thing.

@DoubleYouOhEmAyEn

Your figure is not pleasing on the eye, kindly modify it for my viewing pleasure. There's a good girl.

Yes. This is the subtext.

Does shapewear for boys exist??

Very odd.

Maybe wording not right. It's so bizarrely at odds with the blurb above.

With this stuff think important to find out what actually going on before jumping.

I thought. Could be about giving bras decent quality proper size to girls who not got ones that right due to cost.

That would make sense more. But you can't just dish out Bras need to check fit!

Just no idea.

Not prepared to form opinion without knowing what actually going on tbh.

No, shapewear isn't a synonym for binders.

And that size guide is seriously crap - no actual measurements so getting an adequate fit is going to be guesswork, so it's really going to meet the aims they state.

It's a promo giveaway, of a kind that wouldn't happen her (at all, let alone for underwear) and is merchandising a paid solution to perceptions of body 'faults'

If it were bras solely, there wouldn't be three separate sections to the consent slip, for "Shapewear (Top)", "Shapewear (Bottom)" and "Bra Size".

I have never worn shapewear. The only time I'd consider it would be if I had a very fitted evening dress, and it's much easier to not wear a very fitted dress in the first place. But if I did, at least I wouldn't have to do anything more than float around and make polite conversation over the desserts.

I don't think shapewear would be conducive to concentrating on anything academic, so this is, yet again, an additional burden on girls.

I'm 46 and have never worn shapewear, I buy clothes that fit me properly as the shape I am. What use would a teenage girl have for it? Disgusting.

If they DO give the stuff out (grim as that is) I hope they explain shapewear shouldn’t be worn for too long at a time.

I know Spanx-type-shorts CAN be used to stop the discomfort caused by legs rubbing together, but if that were the aim, there are now better options. If the company doesn’t make them, I can - just about - see offering these for that purpose if there are girls who want to see if they will help them.

It’s horrendous they’ve bundled everything together on form - it’s all or nothing. Awesome approach that. Hopefully they provided a guide for measuring for bras & one for what the clothing sizes translated to.

Is there any chance they might not mean shapewear but compression garments for exercise? Because that actually WOULD make sense in terms of what they say they’re trying to do. (I have no idea how they’d confuse the terms either, but Hope Springs etc…)