Dress Codes Dbq

School dress codes shame students and teach other children that is okay to judge and harass young women

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.

I agree with few school dress code standards such as “less competition, pressure or other distractions from academics” and uniformity, though many public school districts take advantage of the authority they have over the young mindsets (OCadiz). While having influence over young minds, administrators have suppressed one group, allowing another group to have more freedom than ever. Discriminating against a young woman’s rights to express herself simply because she is a “distraction” is disconcerting. We often wonder why some men grow to be cruel to women, but have you ever thought this behavior could have been recognized while in their primary and secondary schooling? Administrators also argue that school is for learning and not expressing oneself, but where do children spend the majority of their time? If children can not express themselves in school, where else can they?

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.

Dress codes target young girls bodies at a young age and cause self esteem issues from a very early age. Establishing sexist norms into young minds is a recipe for disaster. One journalist from The Huffington Post says, “By creating and following dress codes that have separate standards for boys and girls, it teaches girls that they are mostly perceived as objects, only as valuable as how they look” (Bromberg). By telling girls that their bodies are infringing upon boys’ education establishes a norm in their mind that they should not be confident within themselves. How could a low self esteem improve learning in

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.

It is of no possible argument that some of the most valuable and lasting ideas of life and the world around us are taught and learned at school. Hard work does you well. Cheaters never prosper. Education is the key to success. Girls bodies are a distraction and objects to be inevitably sexualized and harassed. This may sound over exaggerated, but this is the message beings sent to millions of students near and far by the sexist, self-esteem demolishing, unfocused dress codes in schools today. This said, dress codes in schools create a negative environment, putting the focus on the wrong things and ideas, both promoting rape culture and a strong sense of sexism.

Is it really a female student’s fault that a male peer failed a test because her collar bone was distracting him? The school boards across the United States have girls feeling like it is. Dress codes have become an excuse for male students and a way to devalue female morals and education. Removing students from class time and verbally harassing them for their choice of dress has become a common practice within too many schools across the country. School systems use dress codes for various reasons upon campus.

Stephanie was sent home from school, on her first day, when she wore an outfit to school that showed her collarbones. This measure was taken because they don’t want the male student to be distracted from schoolwork. However, male students distract themselves, why should the female students have to change the way they dress because a male student will be distracted. Stop looking, stay focused; it is not difficult to do so. These extreme dress code rules should not becoming into place because male students will be distracted; they should still be able to learn if we show our collarbones.

You're in English class. The teacher asks a question to the whole class, and you raise your hand. Then your shirt goes up. Instead of getting a smile from your teacher for getting the answer correct, you get a one-way trip to the main office. Well, this is what happens to so many girls at school every day. The dress code Brings girls self-esteem down, and you can miss So Many hours of class time.

In April 2015, a Texas honors student was sent home for wearing yoga pants and an oversized shirt that covered her entire backside. In August, a Kentucky student was sent home for showing her collarbone. After her mother brought a scarf to cover her neck, the administration still deemed it “inappropriate.” In Indiana, a 12-year-old student was suspended and missed two days of class. The offense: tight pants. Other dress-code violations include baring shoulders, wearing a tank top, or exposing a bra strap. Should girls have to miss out on some of their education because of a collarbone or tight pants? These are parts of our bodies that are “distracting”. Should girls feel shamed about their bodies? However should school be an appropriate environment?

With staff telling female students to cover their bodies in schools, many girls fall victim of body shaming.

Now that we've covered the two main reasons let's talk about how much these dress codes will cost families. School dress codes can be financially restricting on a lot of families, especially if they already don’t have a lot of money and are struggling to pay the other school costs. In a personal way, i can understand this, my families never had the money to buy much, so if the dress code was any stricter we would have to go out of our way to buy clothes that would fit into the dress code limits and

Dress codes treat students unfairly, mainly targeting females. Many students across the nation-particularly girls- are agreeing with school dress codes being too strict and giving unfair treatment to females. A student from Kentucky was sent home for showing her collarbone, a student from Texas was sent home for wearing yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt that completely covered her backside. A teacher explained that when girls don’t meet the school dress code regulations, they are told they

If a girl is sitting silently at her desk taking notes on her teachers lecture, how can the length of her skirt affect her or others learning capabilities? Some clothes are appropriate for school and some are not. But in the end, what’s disruptive in the classrooms is not the attire that girls are wearing but their bodies themselves. I’m sure teachers mean well by encouraging girls not to think that they need to wear tight clothes in order to get attention from boys or imitate their favourite celebrities. When girls are denied time in the classroom because their knees, shoulders or upper arms are considered inappropriate and in need of covering up, it benefits the social sexualization of adolescent bodies over their right to learn.