Outrage after teen boys rate female classmates
Believed to be posted online by 3 male students
A list ranking the Bexley High School girls senior class “attractiveness” was posted to social media over the weekend.
The nine-tier list ranked the girls from “bhaddie” at the top all the way down to “disgusting trash people.” Some of the other categories include “def above average”, “meh”, a vomit emoji and “horse.”
The girls' faces were posted next to different categories, with those closest to the left ranked higher in that category. This is similar to how tier lists rate albums, video game characters and television show episodes.
The list was first posted as an Instagram story on Saturday and is believed to have been made by three male students in Bexley's senior class, said Andrew Morton, a senior at Bexley who spoke out against the list.
Bexley City Schools is aware of the list and investigating the situation, according to district officials.
The district is working to determine who compiled the list and sent out a notice to students and families about the social media post on Monday. Citing student privacy laws, the district would not say what the potential punishment would be for anyone found to have been involved in creating the list.
“The District is deeply concerned
and does not condone these actions,” district officials said in a statement Monday to The Dispatch. “We are very grateful for the courage of our students who brought this inappropriate behavior to our attention. BCSD is providing counseling to our students who have been impacted. We remain committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for each of our students.”
Similar situations have happened at other schools across the country. In 2019 at Bethesda-chevy Chase High School in Maryland, for instance, a group of 50 boys were reportedly disciplined after it was discovered that they targeted 18 senior girls by creating a list with their first names and a rating beside each, then shared it on social media, according to news reports.
Bexley schools defines bullying, harassment and intimidation as “an intentional written, verbal, electronic or physical act that a student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once. … The behavior causes mental or physical harm to the other student and is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive education environment for the other student. … Students found responsible for harassment, intimidation or bullying, including harassment, intimidation or bullying by an electronic act, may be suspended.”
Sarah George, a senior at Bexley, was ranked on the list and find its troubling.
“Everyone will always see that three boys thought I was equivalent to a puke emoji,” the 18-year-old said. “That’s the scary part. There are girls who will forever be labeled on the internet as a disgusting garbage person or a horse.”
In response, she started an online petition to get the boys who made the list suspended. The petition had accumulated more than 1,600 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
“It took us completely by surprise because this is something you see happen in movies and television shows,” George said. “This is traumatizing and could follow us for the rest of our lives.”
The list has generated a lot of outrage including such statements on the petition as, "This list is misogyny at its finest," "I’m signing because me and my friends have been objectified and it’s disgusting" and "These boys need to be held accountable for their actions."
Bexley had state testing on Monday and senior skip day Tuesday, so Wednesday will be the first time a majority of seniors will be back in the classroom together since the list was posted.
Morton said one of his friends was ranked in the lowest category and finds the whole thing heartbreaking. He said he planned to reach out to the colleges where the three boys who allegedly created the list have been accepted to ask that they rescind their offers.
“It was cruel,” the 17-year-old said. “It was horrible. My heart hurt so much." mhenry@dispatch.com @megankhenry