A high school 'hotness tournament' website has sparked outrage among students and parents at Issaquah High School in Washington.
The online competition follows a similar tournament, which took place at a local radio station and judges female students at the school for their attractiveness.
But school are powerless to close down the competition, as it is not being held at the grounds of the school.
Last year, a similar 'hotness tournament' website was set up but was closed down by authorities after profane and offensive comments were left on the website.
However, this year's site is harder to gain access to, and nothing can be done about it as there is no comment section like before.
The boys at the high school have reportedly been running the tournament for five years, dubbing it the "May Madness" tournament. It encourages girls to "look their finest" and votes on the sexiness of a girl from 1 to 10.
"It's hard," district spokeswoman Sarah Niegowski told King 5 News. "It doesn't feel good to anybody." She continued, "These are pretty smart folks behind this. They know their first amendment rights. They're very quiet about who it is and the group behind it."
Students are being discouraged by school officials from participating in the "May Madness" tournament.
Sophomore Devon Keller said: "This kind of thing is sexualizing us girls like we're some sort of trophy."
"Almost every teenage girl has self-esteem issues. And doing something like that is absolutely ridiculous," said student Tristan Robinson.
No official action can be taken unless anything vulgar, offensive or illegal are found on the site.
