Rhetorical Analysis : The Sexism Of School Codes

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.

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

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.

During the time period that the article was written, violence was beginning to become an issue in many large, urban cities. In Krystal Miller 's article, she begins her first paragraph by going into detail about how a young girl by the name of Melchishaua Person is awarded with expensive clothes by her mother for making good grades. Furthermore into the section, she discusses how many students do not feel that any harm will be done to them, as it will be done to others instead. Towards the end of her first section, Miller states that much abuse and violence is occurring to students due to the clothes and accessories they may own or wear. While she does do a great job discussing the violence brought upon by the dress codes issue, more detail into how the students reacted could have been better. Her next section further discusses how students began to have a tendency to protest the authority of many officials in the more urban cities such as New York and Los Angeles. Miller 's third and final section is mainly based on the consequences that the violators had to face. While doing so, she discusses the many opinions of

Gender Equality is a big issue throughout the world, but what exactly is it? Well to answer that, it is the view that everyone should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against based on gender. Today, most women are getting treated differently compared to men. Whether it is based on pay gap, power, or strength the problem comes up. Men think they are stronger and better than women and this upsets women because it makes them feel like they don’t have a place in this world. This is where feminism comes into place. I chose this topic because I can relate to it more than the racial option, although now it could be about the same.

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

Establishing Pathos, in this article, would have improved this article because she is a woman and has experience on this topic. Rowena has lived through the social normality of boys’ being held to a

For many elementary and middle school students, the possibility of being dress coded looms as an ever-present threat. Shorts must reach the mid-thigh and be no shorter. Tank top straps must be at least two inches wide. Anything less means the the inevitable trip to the principal’s office in which talk of appropriate clothing choices is thrown about. Though a once accepted reality of public schooling, the traditional values are being challenged. Girls across Canada are questioning the necessity for such rules, as well as the reasons behind dress codes. While they are not without their place, dress codes still hold strong connotations of gender inequality at a time when these values are being strongly challenged.

At the Etobicoke School for the Arts, students have started to fight back. Many protests have been happening all over the Durham region, student have been breaking the dress code in large groups or missing classes to hold protesting signs up outside for the schools. It is interesting to see that both males and females can agree that the schools are using the dress to exploit and oppress women and are starting to fight back. Student Evette Reay was sent home for wearing something completely harmless. However, her teacher claimed that her dress was too short and because this was the third time Reay broke the dress code, she was suspended from school for three days.

In the article, “High school Dress Code Letter Advises Girls To Cover Their ‘Sausage Rolls’” written by Taylor Pittman expresses how degrading and derogatory our society can be. Brianna Burtop, graduating senior at Biglerville High school, received a letter before graduation stating the dress code for their big day, along with her other classmates. Brianna was furious about the statements used in the letter, for example, wearing clothes that “keeps ‘the girls’ covered and supported.” Not only was Brianna upset by the snide remarks made in the letter, she was particularly offended by the comment, “we don’t want to be looking at ‘sausage rolls’” and “you can’t put 10 pounds of mud in a five-pound sack.”

The author penned, “there’s also the disruption and humiliation that enforcing the attire rules can pose during school. Frequently, students are openly called out in the middle of class, told to leave and change, and sometimes, to go home and find a more appropriate outfit. In some instances, girls must wear brightly colored shirts that can exacerbate the embarrassment, emblazoned with words like, ‘Dress Code Violator’,”(Zhou).

When analyzing an argument, a reader must be able to think critically about what the author is taking about, and whether the facts and ideas are reliable and well written out. To write an argument the author must be able to persuade the audience into agreeing with what they have to say on a topic. In articles such as Karen Mangiacotti’s article, “Back Off, Dress Codes. This is Not Your Call,” it is important for the reader to be able to put both their own knowledge and the knowledge presented to them to decide how accurate the writing is. When making a decision about the validity of the authors writing, one must make sure that there are no fallacies, or over uses of appeals. In Karen Mangiacotti’s article “Back off, Dress Codes. This Is Not Your Call,” Mangiacotti uses significant facts and statements to argue that school dress codes are sexist that ultimately humiliate young women; and by analyzing the author’s tone and pointed sexism toward women in the article, Mangiacotti’s article becomes less convincing to an audience that the dress code is bad, due to the way that she sets up the article.

By telling the story of the girl, who was being made fun of because her stomach showing and being forced to change, Lindin makes the reader feel sympathy for the girl who was being humiliated. Another part of Lindin’s argument that uses pathos is towards the very end where she persuades the readers to take a stand for girl’s right to wear what they want. “Let’s use our voices and our actions to make it clear that we are people- not distractions” (INTEXT). By using quotes that made the reader feel as if they should do something is an excellent way of persuading the reader. Lastly, Lindin uses pathos when talking about how dress codes are put into place for boys, so they do not become distracted throughout the school day. “The justification most often given for gender-specific dress codes is that without them, these poor boys will be “distracted” by their classmates bodies” (INTEXT). By using this Lindin is able to persuade the reader into yet another reason why dress codes are sexist towards