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This Mom Was Horrified By The Dress Code At A 6th Grade Pool Party

An Indianapolis school was insisting that all girls cover swimsuits with a T-shirt, so one parent took a stand.

Recently, Indiana-based mom Jennifer Smith noticed that the permission slip her son had brought home for his sixth-grade pool party had an interesting dress code.

"All girls must wear a non-white t-shirt over their swimsuit," it read.

Smith said she felt livid over the female-specific rule, and posted a picture of the flyer on the Facebook group Feminism on Facebook, where it was picked up by Babble.

"Being a feminist and seeing things through that filter, I was just kind of enraged by that," she told the Huffington Post. "They're saying little girls need to be ashamed of their bodies and cover themselves up."

The pool party at Rhoades Elementary in Indianapolis was being held for students who displayed "good citizenship," and also banned Speedos.

Though she doesn't have a daughter, Smith wanted to set an example for her son, so she contacted the school's principal to ask for her to elaborate on the rule.

"I have a little boy, I'm teaching him to think correctly, and this is contrary to what I'm teaching him," she said.

Many stringent school dress codes have come under fire in recent years, with students and parents accusing the requirements of being sexist by suggesting that women are a "distraction."

The principal noted that in the past, girls had worn “very inappropriate swimsuits and covering up takes care of that issue” without them needing to purchase new swimwear, Babble reported. She added that the dress code was to prevent teasing.

“Due to the varying sizes of students at this age, [making T-shirts mandatory] takes away the ability of kiddos making fun of others for wearing a shirt [since] everyone is required to wear one,” she wrote.

But Smith, a case manager at the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation, cited academic research that says targeting females can be damaging to their self-esteem.

As you are aware adolescence is a very confusing time and can also be detrimental to girl’s emotional wellbeing. Setting one standard for half of the student body only promotes the idea that girls bodies are naturally shameful, and helps to send a very damaging message of “you are reasonable for others thoughts, feelings, and actions” that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

She suggested that all kids wear shirts over their swimsuits, which the school didn't go for. Eventually, officials came around, and district spokesperson Mary Lang told Babble they adjusted the requirements to be that “(a)ll student should wear appropriate swimwear” and made T-shirts optional.

At the pool party on Monday, Smith's son reported back that none of the girls wore T-shirts.

Though Smith was pleased with the result, she's not stopping there: The mom has plans to meet with school officials to continue the discussion on gender bias.

“We really can make a difference,” she said, “as long as we try.”

BuzzFeed News has reached out to Jennifer Smith and Rhoades Elementary for comment.