This was written by a youth leader, Mary Jo, and published in the school newspaper:

Halloween is just around the corner. The time of year where you can pretend to be anything you want. However, this has me questioning what teen girls want to be because, last time I checked, fire-fighters and police did not dress in fishnets. I'm not saying we should break out our turtle necks and petticoats to the next dance, but we should consider the underlying issue when it comes to behaviour and attire at school functions.
Self-esteem is a major concern for girls, not only at Dr. J, but throughout the western world. Insecurities, brought about by media pressure, plague women and girls. Approximately one in five women will have suffered from an eating disorder within their lifetime. Some of which will seek reassurance desperately by trying to maintain the attention of someone of the opposite gender. This behaviour is clearly demonstrated in our school at the dances.  Girls are willing to objectify themselves in order to be supplied with confidence about their bodies.
My question is why? Why are we willing to hurt and degrade ourselves in order to feel good about something we don't control? When it comes down to it, we can't (within reasonable means) change our appearance, it's genetics. Why do we bother being proud or ashamed of our looks? People are worth so much more than that. Girls should be proud of abilities they've worked to achieve, like being smart, athletic or talented. That way, maybe next time we go to a dance, we'll reconsider what we wear. Perhaps we'll decide that we don't need to be objectified, because we know we're worth more.