Teacher bae. Up until recently, Patrice Brown was just a regular fourth grade teacher in Atlanta, but now, she’s become known as “teacher bae” all over the internet.
Photos. Somehow, Brown’s Instagram photos started showing up on the internet, most of which were selfies or photos taken of her proudly posing in her classroom. But what caught people’s attention was what she was wearing.
Attire. Brown is seen wearing body con dresses, but with cardigans over them, jeans with a sweatshirt, and the occasional pair of heels. Seemingly normal attire for a school teacher— the only difference with Brown is that she’s curvy and the outfits fit her a little more snug.
Negativity. People have taken to Twitter to express their feelings towards Brown’s clothing, with one user saying “That teacher looks good [as f***] but her attire is just inappropriate to be teaching a fourth grade class. Little boys are pervs by like second grade,” said one user.
Classroom. “She wouldn’t be teaching my child dressed like that…there’s a time and a place for everything and in the classroom is not it. Taking selfies in the middle of the classroom,” said another user, although clearly there are no other students in the classroom and she isn’t being a distraction to anyone.
Defense. Brown has since deleted the photos of her and has made her Instagram account private, but other people have come to her defense saying that the internet is overreacting about Brown’s outfits and pointing out that she’s won teaching awards at her school and been deemed a favorite among students.
Good educator. ”BUT THE GAG is that no one in the school complaining, while y’all attacking her, she won educator of the month,” said one user. Another user wrote “I Twitter searched #teacherbae and saw a deluge of stupid tweets about what women should and should not wear at work and now my head hurts."
Focus. In an interview with the Daily Dot, Brown said she would rather focus their attention on the positive things she does, like educating the youth, rather than focusing on what her body looks like.
Positive. "I just wish they would respect me and focus on the positive and what truly matters, which is educating the children of the future generations and providing and caring for them,” said Brown, as reported by the Daily Dot.
Status. Atlanta Public Schools has released a statement on Brown’s status saying that she is in fact still teaching within their district and hasn’t been fired because of the recent attention she’s received.
Guidance. "Atlanta Public Schools can confirm that Patrice Brown is a paraprofessional employed with the district. She was given guidance regarding the APS Employee Dress Code, the use of social media, and Georgia Code of Ethics for educators, and she has been cooperative in addressing her presence on social media,” said the statement, as reported by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Curves. Other people and publications have pointed out that it’s unfortunately become normal in society to sexualize a woman simply because of her curves and the way she looks, rather than taking into consideration anything else about her.
Comparisons. Other people also compared photos of thinner women in the same type of dress that Brown is wearing, furthermore proving the point that the dresses aren’t actually inappropriate, they just look differently on Brown because of her curves.
Two sides. Another photo of her was uploaded to Twitter which showed Brown sitting at a table with a student as he reads books, with the caption reading “Funny how nobody posted this pic of #teacherbae. The one that matters. You guys are only focusing on the negative."
Double standards. The Daily Dot points out that if Brown had been a man or a woman with small breasts, this would have never been an issue to begin with. What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments section below.
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