Photo: Matt Austin/Facebook
A Florida dad was in “total shock” after a photo of his daughters going to homecoming turned into a viral moment.
Matt Austin, a news anchor in Orlando, shared a photo onFacebooklast month of him with his two teenage daughters before they left for their high school homecoming.
“My daughters look a little too good on homecoming night. Believe it or not, they’re even more beautiful on the inside,” he captioned the shot.
“Sorry my daughters would never leave the house looking for sale,” one comment read, while another read, “So sad that parents think it’s ok to send the young ladies out with everything showing!”
Austin decided to film aTikTokin response to the backlash he received, calling out “Karens taking aim at teen daughters' Homecoming dresses.”
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“It was a total shock — to me, the outfits weren’t controversial,” Austin toldToday Parents. “I wondered, ‘What makes a bad dress?’ and ‘Why are people policing me?’ And ‘Why is it okay to talk about someone’s children like this?’ "
“The one thing that has always pissed me off as a father of girls is when people say things like, ‘Well, these girls need to dress so they don’t distract the boys,’ " he said. “Or even worse: ‘They’re dressing a way in which they’re asking for it.’ "
“Let’s get something crystal clear now. It’s not my daughters' job to make sure your son is focused in school. Also not her job to dress hideous enough to where your son doesn’t assault her,” he added. “It’s your job to not raise a pervert with no self-control.”
The dad explained that the dresses “would not have been the outfits I would’ve chosen for my daughters to leave the house,” teasing he would’ve picked “24/7 Snuggies.”
However, he added, “If I start dictating what my daughters wear, I’m going to teach them three things: A, They’ll start to hate me for arbitrary rules, B, they’ll start to lie to me or C, maybe even worse, that it’s okay for a man to tell them what to wear because they look too good,” added Austin.
“But you know what would really disappoint me? If my girls grew up to be the kind of adult who goes on social media and demeans a teen’s appearance on her father’s Facebook page,” he quipped. “Now that’s what I call trashy.”
“YES! I raised three daughters and feel exactly the same. They are NOT responsible for a man’s thoughts,” wrote one user, while another replied, “This! I wish everyone could have this mindset.”
source: people.com
