School Dress Codes

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.

Second of all, some may feel that dress codes are necessary in schools to prepare the teens for jobs and to make

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.”

School dress codes send a loud and clear message, “Your individuality is inconvenient.” (Rowland 22). The constitution guarantees the right to free speech,which can be interpreted as the right to freedom of self expression, and students use clothing to express themselves. Another message that dress codes send is that “the self identity that you want to express does not belong here.” Self expression is not an inconvenience or a distraction, it is the lifeblood of our nation. (Rowland 22). Schools tell students that they should be confident in themselves, but how can they if they cannot express themselves? School dress codes now are more about shielding the boys then protecting the girls which implies that boys are immature. Calling a girl’s clothes distracting is implying that she is at fault for any disruptions. “That 's like saying that because a store has a cash register, it 's the store 's fault if it gets robbed!” (Menza 1). Students are going to be distracted anyways. Sexist dress codes are like saying that an article of clothing, or a body part showing on a female will distract male students from learning. Dress codes should be simple for both genders, everyone should wear clothing that covers up the same area. With dress codes, students are forced to dress the same as other students, taking the individuality out of school, but schools try to send the message, you are individual. Figure 1 shows a strict dress codes for both students and

Dress code is put into place to keep students from being bullied for how they dress and how some people may treat them different depending on what they wear. There is a lot of evidence that show students losing time in the class room because they are too worried about there personal apparel. David Brunsma, a sociologist who wrote Uniforms in Public Schools: A Decade of Research and Debate in 2005, says,

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

Dress codes are becoming more and more popular throughout the United States; however, this does not mean all administrators agree with them. In fact, there are educators

As the temperature rises, so do hemlines and the suspension rate. Students get suspended for violating school dress codes by wearing outfits that ‘show too much skin.’ One can argue that revealing clothing is distracting, but some families and students agree that school dress code implementations end up just shaming girls. Dress codes, the epitome of high school, teach girls to act ashamed, not modest. According to most school boards that come up with the dress code, the outfits young women wear come across as too distracting for their peers, especially men, and make it unable for women to be viewed by the public with dignity and respect. Everyday, school dress codes target females—especially females that are more developed.

Educators suggest that dress codes teach students what is acceptable in the workforce. However, some employees care less about how their employees dress and more about their work ethic. Students should learn to dress appropriately based on context, dress codes do not express that. Instead, dress codes teach students that “conformity and obedience to authority is more important.”

These dress codes really do not apply to boys and their clothing, whereas for girls it basically effects their whole wardrobe. Girls should not have to worry in the mornings about what they might get dress coded for. These rules that students and some older workers have to follow are unfair and are not

Have you ever been excluded from learning because of what you wore to school? In most schools, dress codes are set in place to provide a better learning space for all students. Having a dress code can oppress students because students are given the impression that they should not express themselves. Not all families can afford the clothes that abide by the rules. For example, some students don 't have the means to pay for new clothes, so they have to use hand-me-down clothing. Enforcing a dress code can lead to more problems in the long run because of the exceptions made for students who are athletes and cheerleaders. Many school faculty members including teachers and administrators think that keeping a dress code will keep students looking appropriate while learning, but this idea is wrong because it keeps students from expressing themselves and, the dress code singles out women.

As times have changed school dress codes have not. These dress codes have not been updated and are shaming young girls and woman. The argument for dress codes are saying that dress codes help keep order and discipline in schools as well as self respect. Within that argument I disagree about a majority of those reasonings. “Dress codes have proven to increase student achievement by encouraging students to concentrate more on their studies and less on their wardrobe. A de-emphasis on clothing can also save money, as there will be less pressure to keep up with expensive trends and fashions.” Not only do dress codes target young women by treating them as if they are distractions, they also tend to cost more than normal everyday attire would. The

A dress code is simply a set of rules about what clothing may or may not be worn in a school that each student has to follow. Almost every school has a dress code that their students have to follow by during the school hours. Whether the students’ want to follow it, the policy can help them for a job in the future, because they know what is expected of them. Dress codes in high schools in the United States should be enforced to promote equality to every student to improve his or her educational and social experience.

Not only is dress code sexist, but it’s degrading. Dress code makes girls cover up and not wear what they feel confident in. It is restricting and is telling girls that they should be ashamed of their bodies because they cause a distraction and disrupt the class. Dress code teaches women that they cannot wear what they want because a man will sexualize them (Zhou). Once a person starts hearing how they can’t wear things because it is too suggestive, then that person starts losing confidence. If what a person wants to wear and feels confident in is too suggestive and inappropriate, then what can that person wear? “If schools want to teach respect, they need to give the message that it is unacceptable to blame a girl for being more developed and thus too distracting for her male classmates,” a grandmother, and retired preschool director, said after her elementary school granddaughter was sent to the principal’s

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