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Importance Of School Dress Codes

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How School Dress Codes are Detrimental to Girls.

In many American middle and high schools, there are rules on how you must dress. The most known of these are that boys must wear shirts and must not show their underwear, and girls must have shorts or skirts be fingertip length, not show shoulders or bra straps, and not show too much cleavage. The rules vary by school, but most of these rules are geared towards young women. College and real life do not have dress codes. Employers have dress codes so that their employees can convey to customers what the business wants them too, but dress codes in public high schools are sexist and teach young women that their education is less valuable than that of a man’s. Firstly, most school dress codes are aimed at girls. According to the dress code of my alma mater, Lakota West High School, there are twelve items of clothing that are not allowed that are directed towards girls, and only 3 that are specific to boys. There are more that are unisex, but I have singled out the ones that are gender specific. Why are girls the ones who are more restricted by the dress code? Imagine you are a young man getting ready for school in the morning. If your outfit doesn’t have oversized armholes, dog collars/spikes, or drug or alcohol related messages, congratulations! You’re ready for school. Now, if you’re a young woman getting ready for school, your outfit must not show your bra straps, have sleeves that cover your entire shoulder, and not have oversized armholes. Your shorts or skirt cannot be past your fingertips, which for some girls with long arms means wearing jeans even in 90-degree weather. Your jewelry and piercings must not be “potentially harmful” (it is up to the staff to dictate what is and what’s not), and your hair and makeup must not “disrupt” the educational process. (Again, it is the job of the staff to decide what is disruptive, there are no set guidelines.) It’s a lot harder to get ready for school as a girl, which just adds more stress to get ready in the morning, and gives them one other thing to worry about besides schoolwork. The reasoning I’ve often heard behind makeup and not showing shoulders for girls is to not “distract” other students. Since most

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