Dress Codes Persuasive Speech

How do you feel when you get in trouble at school for trying to express who you really are with the clothes you just bought and you thought looked really cool in, but turned out it was breaking the dress code, you feel embarrassed right? Well, all schools have a dress code of some sort whether it's a uniform, or you can and can't wear certain clothes. Schools should not have dress codes because students can easily find a loophole in dress code rules, they don't let people express who they are, and uniforms are expensive. These dress codes schools use are to keep people from being bullied. The only problem is the girls are getting targeted more because they wear tank tops with spaghetti straps and leggings so the schools banned them. It's unfair

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

Dress code has been proven to be sexist. For example, the staff at schools make female students stand just to see if their shorts are long enough, if their shirts cover their shoulder, if their pants have holes above the knee, or if they are wearing any pants that are tight, which if they are a shirt must be covering their bum. Girls are targeted when it comes to dresscode. Why? All because of how society views their bodies. “It’s telling women and girls that it’s your responsibility to control boys and men and their presumed aggressiveness.”

Laura Bates wrote a very controversial article on May 22, 2015. Her two page article, “How Dress Codes Shames Girls and Perpetuates Rape Culture,” set a tone that is hard to forget. Laura includes detailed examples that capture her readers attention and open one’s eyes to the harm that public school dress codes are doing, not only to the physical image of a girl, but to the self-esteem of many girls as well. There are many thoughts and emotions that follow this topic, because of the many girls that have been affected personally by dress codes, or rather, dress code violations. In this groundbreaking article, the question of whether or not a school dress code shames girls and perpetuates rape culture is answered.

In high schools all over America, young girls are being sent home for wearing “provocative” outfits and are being asked to change as it would be wrong for these girls to be a distraction to the boys in their class. This attitude puts in the minds of adolescent girls the feeling that boys will inevitably be boys and, as women, they are the ones who should change their outfit to better accommodate the male students. Laura Bates addresses this issue in “How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture”. Bates’ purpose is to raise awareness on the subject matter, as well as give her opinion on it. Through her use of ethos, pathos, and logos, Laura Bates presents a very strong argument.

In the United States, almost every school has a dress code. That dress code should apply to both males and females, but that’s not always the case. Schools all over the map have been targeting women on the way they dress, and the usual accusation is that it’s “too distracting” for male classmates. Stephanie Dunn from Kentucky is a victim of this accusation. She wore a pair of jeans, a tank-top, and a white cardigan to her high school and got sent home for showing her collarbones. Her mother brought her a scarf to put over her outfit and the principal still deemed it as too inappropriate and too distracting for the male classmates in her classes.

Dress code season is coming, and middle and high school girls are soon to be going through this ordeal again. For this reason, dress codes should be abolished or at least lessened because they body-shame girls and are discriminatory for LGBTQ youth. Instead, boys should be taught not to be distracted if more-revealing clothes are distracting (which they are not).

“In Florida, students were publicly shamed for violating dress code by being forced to wear ‘shame suits’” (Sorto, 2016). Creating a disruption in class to force a girl to change her clothes distracts her from her education, as well as humiliates and shames her. “Another girl, in Virginia, said it was sexist to label what she was wearing unprofessional and then force her to wear ‘dress code’ sweatshirt and pants” (Schrobsdorff, 2015). This is hypocrisy since not being “dress code” was unprofessional, but wearing sweats was not. Furthermore, it tells women that they should cover up their bodies completely to be deemed “professional,” illustrating the sexism ruling these dress codes. “While some administrators checked skirt lengths with the ‘thumb test’ by measuring hemlines against the tips of the fingers, many schools famously administered the ‘kneeling test’—requiring girls to submissively kneel down at the front of the class to make sure skirts touched the floor” (Lovell, 2016). Although this rule took place years ago, the fact that teachers made only girls do this is both extremely sexist and humiliating. Dress coding girls in front of the class teaches girls that they are lesser than men with submissive kneeling. Instead of politely pulling girls aside to inform them that they have broken the dress code, schools

In the past days as the weather has improved, I have noticed a plethora of girls being dresscoded, to a standard I believe is inaccurate and biased. Girls are being removed from classroom settings to no one's benefit, strict dress codes are promoting stereotypes and negative ideas, and dresscode almost never affects guys I believe our dress code should be changed due to its unfair and shaming nature.

Currently, girls still face a strong discrimination on what they wear more than boys in school. Many of these stories are appearing in social media about how unfair it is for many of these young ladies to be sent to the office or suspended because of what they wear is considered inappropriate. According to Times article, “How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture,” Laura Bates quotes a student,

“That a different standard is applied to girls who are more curvy and developed than other girls” (ADL 1). Girls are not all shaped the same, so one girl might not get dress coded while another girl might because she is more matured. “Girls shorts and spaghetti strap tank tops are "distracting" to male students and teachers” (The Guardian 1). Girls shouldn't have to worry everyday when we come to school about getting dress coded, we should just be able to walk into school confident. “A young woman in Virginia who was kicked out of her prom this month because fathers attending the event thought her dress was giving rise to "impure thoughts"” (The Guardian 1).

Some say men distract men when they don't dress according to the dress code. However, women aren’t the only thing that men should be focusing on in the world. If they have work to do, boys should be able to be mature enough and pay attention. Some might also claim that the dress code is enforced equally for both genders. How many stories do you hear in the news about male students getting sent home for dress codes? I walk around my school everyday and see sagging pants and inappropriate choices of clothing on a large amount of males, but I have yet to witness one of those males being sent home for their clothing choices. Lastly, people may try to argue that dress codes protect women from harm. Statistics say different. 58% of 7-12th grade female students experience sexual harassment every school year (Gordon Claire). Perhaps it’s the culture of disrespect for women’s bodies that causes this harassment, not girls “asking for it” by wearing certain

The dress codes forbid women to wear anything too revealing, leaving the definition of what revealing his to the person enforcing the rules. Girls have been sent home for wearing leggings, full length dresses with spaghetti straps, short shorts among any other clothing choice that brings sexual thoughts to the person enforcing it. It makes you wonder the reason why a teacher or principal would think sexually of a student who most likely is underage. Boys while playing sports are free to take off their shirt, but since their midriffs and chest is not sexualized then it is ok; we shall not distract the boys while the learn so girls must be sent home and miss class because their education is not as important? The article, How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture from Time magazine stated that punishing girls for what they wear due to the distraction caused to the boys, sends a damaging lesson: girls bodies are dangerous and harassment is

When most people think of the dress code it really is not that big but as the society is growing and changing. Not many people are realizing the dress code needs to be able to cope with the new ages. It targets females much more than it does males “...administrators notified parents that female students are no longer allowed to wear shorts, leggings, or yoga pants because those articles of clothing might be “too distracting” for their male peers…” (Culp–Ressler). This is infuriated many parents because they simply wanted to know why their child would have to accommodate for their male peers. Parents of these young girls don’t like how now they have to spend money to alter their child's

Author Aliya Hoyt explains a statement from an interview saying, "This is all done under the guise of helping students create a safe space for learning where they can focus on education," Emily says, adding, "But the outcome is that women's bodies are policed in ways that men's bodies are not (Hoyt).¨ What the dress code does to those of the female gender is forces them to confide to a standard of what the schools believe that a woman should look like. The school system defines what they believe is appropriate for a young woman, and female students are unable to stretch out beyond this standard of confirmation. Girls are being punished for something they cannot control, suffering daily due to the system. Even in states where the temperatures are blazing hot in states like Arizona and California, girls must abide but rules concerning their shorts and sleeves. Article Girls Fight Back Against Gender Bias In School Dress Code states that “She shared the story of one of her schoolmates who was “dress coded” for wearing a skirt that fell a couple of centimeters above her fingertips when holding her arms by her sides. The student was sent to the office where repeated calls to her home went unanswered. After a two-hour wait, the student went home, too embarrassed to return to her last period class” (Today). Students are not only missing out on opportunities to learn, but are embarrassed of being dress coded. Girl should not have to face the obvious bias that comes with being a female and having to deal with there being a restricting dress