Another Vile Female Student Ranking List Revealed. That Makes 4 in the Past Month!

You’d be sorely mistaken if you thought the Yarra Valley female student ranking list was a one-off. Not only was a women-centric football day marred with male football players lining up to trip and rate female players, but now, another high school is making headlines for a similar list.

It seems like every week we’re bringing you another news story about the objectification and degradation of teenage girls within our schools.

Another Female Student Ranking List Discovered

The Queensland Department of Education is currently investigating a vile Instagram post where 17 female students from Foxwell State Secondary College at Coomera were ranked by their male classmates. The list put female classmates into categories such as ‘average’, ‘one night stand’, ‘preorder’, ‘abduction material’, and ‘unrapeable’.

“The department will conduct a full investigation into the incident of this vile post and any state school student found responsible will be held accountable for their actions,” a spokesperson said.

It Might Be Deleted, But The Damage Has Been Done

The post was discovered on Wednesday and the school moved swiftly to have it deleted, but not fast enough as it was screenshotted and reposted by others onto Facebook and Instagram. The school has offered to support any affected students and their families.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the school said: “Like all Queensland state schools, Foxwell State Secondary College takes the issue of bullying very seriously and is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of every student.”

It was confirmed that the Department could deploy a team to Coomera to assist with harmful and negative behaviour.

“The team provides advice on reporting harmful content through social media platform tools, as well as working with stakeholders about the removal of inappropriate or extreme content,” the spokesperson said.

The department claimed there was no proof of school community involvement yet, but any student found to be involved would be held accountable.

Police and Premier Respond

A police statement confirmed the post sparked an investigation after they received a report concerning cyber threat/harassment.

The post has also been condemned by QLD Premier Steven Miles.

“It is an awful story. The comments I have seen are vile and disgusting.”

“It goes again to the scourge of social media and the impact it is having on young people … It is something I am very concerned about,” he adds.

“Girls should not experience being spoken about in that way,” he added.

Following Victoria’s Misogyny Problem

Three schools in Melbourne have made news for lists ranking female students and it seems Queensland is following suit.

Yarra Valley Grammar was reported for a spreadsheet ranking female classmates from top to bottom as either “wifeys”, “cuties”, “mid”, “object”, “get out” and finally, “unrapable”. The police were flagged to look into whether using the term ‘unrapeable’ constituted a threat.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen said about the incident: “Respect for women has to be at the forefront of every classroom, every household, of every part of the community.”

Not long after that, McClelland College in Frankston, found a similar list ranking female students by their appearance had been created and circulated by a group of Year 9 boys.

Not even a week later, Brentwood Secondary College was in the news for a list found in the girls’ bathrooms ranking female students by how supposedly promiscuous they are.

Over Mother’s Day weekend, at a charity football game between Donvale and Knox, on a day with merchandise being sold to raise money for Breast
Cancer Research, a luncheon for gynaecological cancers and a minute’s silence for domestic violence victims, another incident made headlines.

As female football players for Donvale were running back onto the field after half-time, male players from Knox lined up on either side and attempted to trip the women and called out ratings like “Yes”, “No”, and “Mediocre”. The women were disturbed and intimidated, but still played the second half and won. Over 20 other players stood and watched this incident without intervening.

One Mother’s Fury

One mother, whose 16-year-old daughter was one of the 17 Queensland victims, said she was deeply disturbed by the incident. Choosing to protect her daughter’s identity by remaining anonymous, she said, “It’s everywhere, people have screen-shotted it and reposted it on their Facebook or Instagram.”

“I just don’t know how people think it is OK to make up these categories and then put young girls in them. It’s just horrifying.”

“It’s such a vulnerable age to be having to deal with this — I don’t know how these girls are going to get over it or how long it’s going to take,” she added.

Misogynistic attitudes toward women and girls haven’t changed and sometimes it feels like we take one step forward and two steps back when it comes to being seen as human beings. Is it any wonder we’ve seen things like the man or bear debate and the 4B movement from South Korea going viral on social media?

We need action in all schools before another school creates a list like this. Teachers and school officials need to make it clear these actions will not be tolerated.

Women are fed up. Our girls should feel safe at school.