Dress Code Autoethnography

The prominent reason behind the various overdone school rules regarding dress is the loose power that administrators have been given. They have been “reserve[d] the right to determine if a clothing item or accessory is appropriate for school” (Carroll High School Student Handbook 2010-2011 18). The officials at school are using their own personal opinions to judge the students’ dress. Since styles change as time goes on, the generation in control and the

In the BBC podcast, students, parents and teachers shed a light on the dress codes in Canadian public schools and their focus on young women. Lindsey Stocker, was sent home from school from wearing shorts that were too short (because they didn’t go to her knees). This situation, however, is not unique. Emily Connors got sent home from her public school

Dress codes in middle and high schools are a form of discrimination against teenage girls in today’s society. Parents and students all over the country argue that dress codes are directed mainly at girls and are a blatant example of gender inequality. The idea behind the strict enforcement of a dress code is that it will teach self-respect and raise moral standards for the students. However, when the reason for many dress code violations is questioned the rationale is often to prevent distracting the male students. Young women across the country are being shamed and punished for wearing what schools consider immodest and being a distraction to their male peers. This discrimination against female students results in their clothes being strictly regulated and dress coded more often than male students’ clothes are. The enforcement of these discriminatory dress codes has become a form of public humiliation for female students. Theoretically, a dress code makes sense and should be effective. In reality, it does not affect how students dress but causes a distraction and interruption of a girl’s education.

Any girl that has ever attended public school knows about the struggle of a dress code. On those hot days as the school year approaches, girls pour over their closets trying to find an outfit they won’t get called out for or sweat to death in. All their dresses are too revealing, their shorts too short, and their shirts reveal way too much shoulder—or so the schools say. Girls have been attacked time and time again with dress codes. Policies are almost always directed strictly towards girls; some even specify for girls only. These dress codes are not only sexist towards women, but they limit female’s freedom of expression and their choice to feel comfortable, and they do not teach female’s to have self confidence.

In Zhou, Li’s article “The Sexism of School Dress Codes,” she explains how the dress codes are diminishing children's self-esteem and, is mostly sexist towards girls as well as the LGBT community. To reach a wide audience including students, parents, and high school administrators, she relies on a wide variety of sources from high school students to highly credited professors. Zhou creates a strong argument against strict dress codes and encourages audience to take a stand against out of date dress codes that schools implement, using the rhetorical tools ethos, pathos, and logos to advance her argument.

Schools are slowly taking away people 's individuality, but only seems like they are focusing on girls not boys. “ The way boys and girls get in trouble for violating dress codes is different and girls are disproportionately targeted for disobeying it” (“Rosalind Classroom Conversation”). Rosalind agrees that girls are targeted for dress codes more than boys are. In a girls point of view it seems unfair that boys can wear anything they would like, for example muscle shirts, shirts with alcohol, shirts with naked women on them, but not even get dress coded or a warning (Bassett). Meanwhile, a student that was a girl gotten dress coded because her collarbone was showing and it was deemed that it was inappropriate, even after her mother brought her a scarf in that covered her collarbone (Alvarez). Another student which was also a girl got dress coded because her skirt was a few centimeters under her finger tip. They had to send her home, she had missed all her classes and what they were teaching that day because of what they thought it was inappropriate (Bassett). Analuiza states that “ The only reason I go to school is to get my education. When I get dressed in the morning, my intention is not to provoke or be sexualized. My intention is to feel comfortable in my own skin” (Bassett). As a girl I believe that Analuiza is correct with what she had stated, that girls should be able to feel comfortable, and not be sexualized or feel like they are

As part of this class, we have been required to read many chapters in order to better our understanding of certain sociological terms and open our eyes to new cultures and their societies such as in the cases of reading Japan and Mexico. Upon saying that, the most intriguing and relatable chapter to me has been “Tuck In That Shirt” which discusses race, class, gender and discipline in a poorer school that requires their students to, as the eponymous title states, tuck in their shirt and wear what the school deems as proper attire in the form of uniforms. This chapter is in the form of a research paper in which the author extensively researched the school for around two years. This chapter in the book is very relatable to me for a number of

For example, Arkansas public school dress code law, “requires districts to prohibit the wearing of clothing that exposes underwear, buttocks, or the breast of a female student. (The provision prohibiting exposure of the "underwear and buttocks" applies to all students.)” (Zhou). Boys are held to a different standard than most young girls in public school. Girls’ clothing choices are seen as a distraction by schools, and are thus giving the idea that girls’ education is secondary to what they wear. A town in New Jersey launched a movement called #IAmMoreThanADistraction, which is inspired by girls who have been told that they are the sole reason behind dress code. Telling girls at a young age that they are a distraction is only preparing them for a male dominated world. Phrases like this must end for dress codes to be put to rest.

In the article, “The Battle Over Dress Codes” written by Peggy Orenstein, explains the dress code of Berkley Middle School from a mother’s point of view. This mother of argues that young girls who are reaching puberty and whose bodies are growing, are being told to cover up once they start to develope. She says, “In May, students in Utah high school opened their yearbooks to discover digitally raised necklines and sleeve added to female classmates’ shirts.” I find this act highly deceitful and unnecessary. If i was that student or that student’s parent, I’d be very upset. Orenstein also states that “seductiveness” has been an issue for girls, which has become politicized. Although, no matter how we’re dressed, there is no excuse for catcalls from older men. Orenstein says, “I don’t want her to feel shame in her soon-to-be-emerging

America, the “land of the free, and home of the brave.” Unfortunately, this doesn 't mean “land of the free to wear whatever one desires.” In fact, school dress codes are taking away American students’ self expression, infringing on their freedom of speech, and enforcing sexist discrimination all over the country. A recent case, that occurred at Tottenville High School in Staten Island, New York, blatantly displays the negative effects dress codes are having on students, especially females. In the first couple of days of the semester, this high school managed to give 200 detentions to students for violating the dress code. Ironically enough, 90 percent of these students were girls (Swafford). The discouraging part is that schools are easily able to get away with this kind of discrimination. This is made possible by state laws that give school boards the power to enforce whatever dress codes they think are necessary to promote a distraction free learning environment, maintain discipline, and to push students to dress similarly in order to create a uniformity in the schools (“School Dress Codes”). The purpose of dress codes may be to create a distraction free learning environment; in reality, however, they produce an environment where students feel discriminated against and aren 't free to express themselves.

Ever thought that not having a school dress code could lead to violence over something so simple as to what a person might own or wear? To many people 's surprise, school dress codes can be a very important topic to discuss at any and every public school. This essay will summarize, critique, and evaluate the article "School Dress Codes" by Krystal Miller.

In this day, children can often feel as though they are at a loss of ways to express themselves. With the heavy burden of societal standards, clothes are one of the only “acceptable” ways students have left to express themselves with. The biggest and most relevant example of this today is Transgender and LGBT students, or those who identify with a different gender than the one they were legally born into. As said in The Movement Against Sexist and Discriminatory School Dress Codes, “Meanwhile, gender nonconforming and transgender students have also clashed with such policies on the grounds that they rigidly dictate how kids express their identities. Transgender students have been sent home for wearing clothing different than what's expected of their legal sex.” This said, they way one dresses can extremely affect

It is the beginning of August, the dreadful days in school have finally arrived. Since it is still ninety degrees outside and the AC can not keep up, most boys walk through the halls with shorts and cut-off tank tops. Girls, we wear long pants such as, jeans or leggings, “Why?”, you ask, Why would one ever want to wear that? Unfortunately, It is not a choice for us. Girls face the question when deciding to wear shorts, “Are these long enough, am I going to get in trouble?” Despite the warm temperatures outside and inside girls can not wear what they want, because it shows too much of their bodies. Boys? Can wear their cut-offs showing more than girls. Do they get in trouble for showing too much? The answer, usually is no. .To this day women are not equal to men in, school, the workplace, or at home. In this article, Rowena uses ethos, a very limited amount of logos, and no pathos to make an argument about the sexism towards school dress codes and how it promotes rape culture.

Synopsis: “Are Dresscodes Unfair to Girls” is a podcast episode produced by CBC’s The Current. Its aim was to explore the gender inequality involved in the public school system regarding dress codes through interviews with students, parents, and school administrators. Multiple sides of the debate were argued, showing the complexity of a relatively important issue.

Amanda Claire Curcio has worked in a plethora of work fields such as in the U.S. Army, a special education assistant, an English teacher, and now she is a journalist for the Tallahassee Democrat, a USA-Today associated paper, working there for one and a half years. This article is about a real-life incident of how a gender-neutral, 8th grade boy, who decides one day to attend school in a dress and gets sent home for “violating school policy” (4). Throughout the whole article, there is no bias, just factual information and quotes from the people that were questioned about the incident. This article will be beneficial to my paper because I am going this incident as an example to help back up my thesis in my issue analysis paper.