School Dress Code Shames

Why are schools and work places always so strict about what you can and can’t wear? Depending on where you live and what district you’re in the dress code can vary. If you live in a better school district or private school, you might have a uniform or only be permitted a few things. If you live in a district that doesn’t enforce them as much you might be able to get away with a couple of things. Most people try to break them so they can fit in. Most schools don’t understand that. I think that dress codes should be less strict because they stop freedom of expression, they are bias and they can start bulling; ways that we can stop all of that is if the school understands the current fashion, but if we were to buy uniforms it could potentially

Obviously you can argue this case with the crime rate, and how its victims would be reduced if children dress less provocatively. But first, these types of situations don’t typically happen on school grounds, and yet in public, they have no say as to what we wear. And second, in the same test done by www.staticbrain.org, results showed a 2% decrease, which again, was most likely a coincidence. And yet further research led by www.educationanswer.com proves that only 34% of parents, 5% of teachers, and 25% of students actually agree with the dress code. So bring light to my darkness. WHY is this absurd dress code still a thing? Even universities in Canada have one. However if we spend our wholes lives being dictated by and rebelling against it, when will we ever learn to dress

I find that extremely unfair and ridiculous. Kids go to school to learn, not to be pulled from class and judged by their clothing. My Freshman year of Highschool I wore a pair of ripped skinny jeans, with one rip in the center of my thigh. I had to sit in my AP’s office for 1 and 1/2 of a class periods waiting on new pants to be brought to me, by my mother who had to leave work, drive home, and then drive to the school. When i asked why it was a such a big deal, and if i could just go to class, i got in even more trouble for questioning them. The class that i missed was my Algebra I class. It was almost like i was absent for a day. I missed an into to something, and i was a notes page and worksheet behind. I ended up having to stay after school to get all the missed information, when i was at school, but lost learning time. I didn't think my clothes mattered more than my grades. The Principal would more than likely argue saying something along the lines of, that some clothing was distracting. He’s wrong because we see it everyday. As soon as we are set free by the dismissal bell we are exposed to everything the schools are making so much of an effort to shelter us from. It is nothing new to us. Kids are constantly being stopped or pulled from class to fix their clothing, when they should be in class focusing on what we’re really here for. Education, not to have the way we dress

“I think we live in a culture that’s so used to looking at issues of harassment and assault through the wrong end of the telescope...” (Bates). In these articles they all have a main focus on pros and cons of dress code. They zone in on particular stories regarding dress code that have been in the media and the sexism behind it all. These days authorities need to understand the need to tend to those of religion, sexuality, parents, and even the sexism that is connected to the idea of gender roles in our society.

1: we miss a part of our education that we could potentially need someday. 2: It gets people talking, for example, OMG, did you hear about that girl who was pulled out of class because of her clothes!? 3: It is telling us that a males education is more important than ours, but surely that statement would start an argument because “if a girl would just wear clothes that met expectations in the first place, then there would never be any conflict for that matter, right?” If boys are that easily distracted then maybe they should have their own learning space so they have their rightful opportunity to learn just as well as girls. Many girls miss hours of their day to detention and sitting in the office waiting for their parents to leave work just to bring them an outfit that meets requirements, but after all, that’s better than a boy staring at a girl for a two-minute period right? Not only do we not like the dress code but for some parents or guardians it's hard to find clothes at a reasonable price when they can’t afford clothes that meet the requirements. We wear clothes that are available to us at local

I do not believe my school should have a harsh dress code, especially towards the female students attending. I understand many faculty and other people are uncomfortable with certain clothing styles, though many girls do not wear clothes to simply display themselves to others. Without a dress code, many students would have more freedom to present their true personalities. Some students in my school violate the dress code in some manner, but it does not come as a distraction to other students’ learning. A major issue in today’s society is self-esteem and body positivity. When policy calls for a girl, who may face body issues daily, to cover herself, the policy enforces her idea that her body is ugly, and she will hate herself more and more until

Dress codes in schools were originally put into place to prevent students from dressing inappropriate clothes that would distract from their learning, while still allowing students to express themselves freely. However, these days, schools are enforcing dress codes that differ greatly from their original purpose. Schools shouldn’t be able to enforce dress codes because they’re unreasonable, they waste people’s time, and they enforce sexist ideals.

“I dress myself, not to impress, but for comfort and style.” School boards keep adding more rules to their dress code every year to make it even more strict and harder to follow. Dress code shouldn’t be so harsh. Students are required to follow dress code and lose their comfort, because they can’t wear tanks and short shorts. When they wear those items, teacher's get upset and send them home or force them to wear something they really hate. Dress code shouldn’t be strict, because it doesn’t give students the right to dress freely.

Students have a wide variety of reactions to the appointed dress codes. Both boys and girls react to how the dress codes restrict students’ choices of clothing. A senior boy from Palo Alto, CA, believes the dress code restricts the students at his school. Jackson Brook concludes, “The idea that a visible bra strap or a pair of leggings will prevent a teen boy from learning is absurd to me. And I should know, I’m a teen boy!” (Menza, 2015). This boy believes that clothes distracting guys from learning makes a joke out of teenage boys’ maturity, as his learning does not change if a female’s bra strap shows. He also goes on to tell how he feels about calling a females clothing distracting. He believes dress codes have a way of blaming girls for causing any distractions because of what they wear (Menza, 2015). Girls do not distract the other students the clothing does, but according to most people the girls distract, because they choose what to wear.

First and foremost, the dress code has unfair regulations targeted primarily towards female students regarding modesty blaming the wearer for “distracting” other students. As a high school sophomore, I personally along with many other female students have dealt with the prejudice against female students constantly as it affected our lives daily. For example, on Tuesday, March 18, 2015, a male administrator advised me to change my gym shorts because I could be giving the wrong impression to male students. However, the gym shorts I was wearing would be deemed as appropriate in gym class but inappropriate outside of physical education. The dress code sexualizes body parts, such as shoulders, knees, and ankles, that would be deemed distracting towards the administration and male students. Not only did it deem women as objects, it also deems men as inhumane saying that they could not control themselves over females’ body parts. Furthermore, I see myself as an advocate for the abolishment of dress code policies because it not only affects me, it affects the people around me negatively. I am a basketball cheerleader at Chattahoochee High School, and it is mandatory for cheerleaders to follow the

The topic of school dress codes has been widely discussed in and outside of the classroom and considering that, out of one hundred sixty-three female students at Brevard High School ninety-four percent believe that dress codes only applies to them, one could see why. Eighty-three percent of the two hundred eighty-four students and staff at Brevard High School believe that dress codes are primarily directed at female students (Brevard High School Survey 2016). With those statistics in mind it is no wonder why dress codes are still being debated to this day. Dress codes in public high schools not only limit a student's first amendment rights but also lack legitimate reason and promote a sexist environment.

In 2015, Woodford County High School sent home female student Stephanie Hughes because she was violating the school’s dress code by exposing her collar bone by wearing a tank top paired with a cardigan, which the school decided was “too distracting” for the male students in the school (“Kentucky high school students, parents fight strict dress code that requires girls to cover collarbone”). This is just one example of the countless times that female students have been called out in the hallways or classrooms of their high schools because their outfits had been deemed as “too inappropriate” and “too distracting” to be wearing at school. This had led many students and parents to question the fairness of such dress codes and the lasting effects that they can have on female students that fall victim to their scrutiny. Dress codes of such extremity are something that have been present in schools for quite a while now, and dramatically impact how educators teach, and more importantly, how they interact with their students. The dress code policy set by school districts plays a huge role in determining how educators interact with their students when this dress code is violated and what they are teaching their students when “handling” these students if a dress code violation occurs in their classroom. School dress codes, especially those closely related to the one mentioned in the example above, degrade the female students that fall victim to their strict boundaries and hold the

Dress codes have been implemented in society for centuries. Even if they were not required, there have always been stipulations on the ways people present themselves. Common places requiring some type of dress codes are schools, workplaces, and even churches. These dress codes can range from strict to very minimal. The people follow dress codes to present themselves in a professional manner. The biggest concern recently has been dress code policies in public schools. Public schools typically have a looser dress code than private schools because they mostly wear uniforms and rarely can go wrong with it. An interesting question is why are dress codes different in high school and below than in college? Especially if they are both public institutions. Commonly, college has little to no dress codes, whereas in high school, there is a whole section of dress code restrictions in the handbook. This topic is important because whether you are in school anymore or not because you may eventually have children or people you care about affected by enforced dress codes. There is no way to please everyone. That is an absolute fact. Although, there are ways to make students feel comfortable enough to express and even accept themselves. This can start with a dress code allowing them to do so.

When I was in public school as a child, I was a bit of an early bloomer; I was quick to mature into my body. Sometimes this brought me unsolicited attention, even by adults at school. As a result, my school taught me which parts of my body were the most shameful. My school taught me to hide my growing body away to escape the male gaze. Implementing these dress code policies can in some ways result in institutionalized “slut-shaming” that girls in all grades may experience. Moreover, the attitude that “boys will be boys” takes the responsibility off of the boys and puts it on the girls, who are told to be modest. As Wendy Yeung (yung) wrote in Berkeley Political Review, “from a

If you become a parent, what would you do if your daughter came home in a “shame suit” because her outfit at school was not acceptable? High school and middle school girls are often the target when it comes to public high school dress codes. People often hear the principal of schools put in the handbook that girls clothing can be distracting for the learning environment for boys. People never hear boys being a distraction to girls. Why? Dress codes are a sexist layout of rules that most often only apply to the females in the school. Dress codes in public schools must be more lenient under certain circumstances and need to stop their sexist implementations.