Girls are constantly called out for being too prudish or too sexy. If a girl wears a long dress, she’s conservative. If a girl is proud and confident about her body, she’s a slut. She can never win in male eyes, and quite frankly, she shouldn’t aspire to.

In contrast, when word gets out that a boy has sex, he’s praised—even at Sequoia. We’re not saying you should go out and slut shame boys, but think twice before you shame a girl.

“I’ve seen it happen when guys sleep with someone or [do] something with a girl and get high fives or a slap on the back,” senior Genesis Alejandres said.

In a 2013 survey of 232 high school students in Ventura, CA , 73 percent said they had been slut shamed. Of those polled, 38 percent said that being a slut is defined by clothes, and 47 percent said it is defined by acting promiscuously.

I’ve seen girls use the phrases “slut” or “whore” as terms of endearment, but what they may not be thinking about is calling each other those damaging words gives some boys permission to do the same. I try to stand up to the person when it happens to me or a friend, but most of the time the response is merely, “Chill, it’s just a joke.”

I don’t dress to be inappropriate, I dress for comfort and confidence, and no one should be able to take that right away from me. Women’s bodies should not be sexualized; there is nothing unprofessional about my shoulders.

One girl that we spoke to told us about her sister’s extreme experience with slut shaming at Sequoia, after wearing the same dress she had gone to church in.

“She came to school with the dress and she was called out. When she was walking down the hall a couple of boys were following her. When she went home one of the guys put it on his social media,” said a senior who wished to be anonymous.

The boys involved asked: “Why do girls wear short stuff like this?”

We’re asking: Why do boys behave like this? After this whole ordeal, the girl didn’t go to school for an entire month, and she stopped talking to her friends. Slut shaming damaged both her quality of life and her quality of education.

To everyone who thinks it’s okay to call a girl an offensive word based on their body, understand that what you say only shows your own insecurity. To those who have been shamed, take it from sophomore Sonja Frazer:

“There are always going to be people who hate you because you are you. Maybe it’s just because you have good style or you are confident with your body and you aren’t afraid to show that,” Frazer said. “I would say don’t take it personally, just be happy that you are confident and educated.”