Lincoln High School in Manitowoc, Wis., took down sexist prom posters sponsored by a Catholic health care provider and a “crisis” pregnancy center after FFRF Staff Attorney Sam Grover sent an April 29 complaint letter.
The poster featured a silhouette of a girl in a dress made out of words suggesting supposedly desirable qualities for women, including “quiet, gentle and classy.” The Crossing of Manitowoc County, a Christian anti-abortion group, and Holy Family Memorial, which offers faith-based health services and is operated by the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, sponsored the poster message.
The complaint was picked up by national media, with many stories pointing out the poster implied that girls who had sex had no character and would no longer embody qualities named in the poster. Senior Kelsey Schindl met with Principal Luke Valitchka to ask if she could put up posters countering the “shaming” message but was refused.
“The insinuation that if you do have sex, then you don’t have any character any more is a horrible message to send,” Schindl said. “I’m not endorsing teen sex, but you’re not a bad person if you do and you’re not a bad person if you don’t.”
Grover wrote, “When a school district allows a private religious organization to advertise on the walls of its school, it entangles itself with the religious message being advertised. As it stands, Principal Valitchka appears to have denied students the right to advertise a message on the same topic as the religious advertisements currently on display solely because their message is an opposing viewpoint.”
Manitowoc Public School District Superintendent Marcia Flaherty responded April 30, denying that the posters were religious but confirming they were taken down.