Why Do Girls Have Dress Codes

Dress codes are not helping schools like they are meant to do; they are actually harming students in the school. Dress codes shame students and make them insecure about their bodies. They also disrupt precious class time that is vital to students. Buying clothes to fit the school dress code is costlier than some families can afford. Not only are dress codes stifling, but they are also unfair toward specific body types and different genders. Dress codes also decrease a student’s ability to be different from all of their peers in the way they dress. Schools should not have dress codes because they are sexist, unfair and disrupt class time.

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.

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

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

Young girls across the world are constantly being sexualized and told to cover up their bodies. Girls starting from middle school through high school are told to meet ridiculous standards that are required to be appropriate to attend public school. Girls who are forced to change or go home based on these absurd demands are being told that putting their education on pause, is more important that being comfortable in their clothes they are wearing. A boys wears a shirt to school with a bikini model on it, and nothing is said. A girl wears a tanktop on a 90 degree day, and she is pulled out of class. Standards like this are interrupting the education of many young women across the world, and they need to be stopped. Ruining self esteem for

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.

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.

It is the beginning of August, the dreadful days in school have finally arrived. Since it is still ninety degrees outside and the AC can not keep up, most boys walk through the halls with shorts and cut-off tank tops. Girls, we wear long pants such as, jeans or leggings, “Why?”, you ask, Why would one ever want to wear that? Unfortunately, It is not a choice for us. Girls face the question when deciding to wear shorts, “Are these long enough, am I going to get in trouble?” Despite the warm temperatures outside and inside girls can not wear what they want, because it shows too much of their bodies. Boys? Can wear their cut-offs showing more than girls. Do they get in trouble for showing too much? The answer, usually is no. .To this day women are not equal to men in, school, the workplace, or at home. In this article, Rowena uses ethos, a very limited amount of logos, and no pathos to make an argument about the sexism towards school dress codes and how it promotes rape culture.

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.

Today, wearing a shirt that simply displays the collarbone could get easily get a student sent home from school, easily because it’s an inappropriate outfit that distracts boys. In the article “The sexism of School Dress Codes,” by Li Zhou, it addresses the issue with the dress code in schools. She argues dress code criticizes girls by body-shaming, blaming them for sexual harassment, and making them feel insecure in their own clothing. Li Zhou most effectively uses logos and ethos when describing the differences in gender and power for sexist dress codes in schools. Dress codes at most schools are known to be too strict and sexist.

At Hickory Ridge High, straight A-student,Summer Bond, was suspended for two weeks for wearing a shirt that revealed the tops of her shoulders. The dress code clearly states that the revealing of shoulders is not allowed, and the principal was the first to enforce the rule. Bond was confronted in the school cafeteria by her principal. She asked Summer if she had a jacket to cover up, but Summer didn’t have one. A friend of Summer’s loaned her a jacket; so, Summer put it on, and zipped it all the way up. However, that was not the end of it. The principal then proceeded to call her down to the office, and ordered her to change. Summer refused to go without speaking to her mother. Summer waited for her mom’s phone call, and the principal decided to notify the School Resource Officer (SRO) officer. The officer was within five feet of Summer, and had his hand on his gun. The principal then said “I’m going to give you an ultimatum. We have tried to call your mother, you either come with me to the control room to change your shirt, or we will arrest you.” Summer’s mom finally called back, but by that time it was too late. The senior with a 4.4 GPA was suspended for 10 day and was told that she wouldn’t be able to graduate.. Everything she had worked so hard for over the course of 4 years could potentially be gone, just because she exposed her shoulders. The main goal of this essay is to prove how public school dress codes discriminate against women. This essay describes sexualization in society, how dress codes distract from learning, and the feelings of young female students that are affected by public school dress codes.

The editorial School dress codes reinforce the message that woman’s bodies are dangerous written by Laura Bates, brings to our attention, the sexism that surrounds the application of dress codes. In the article Bates discusses how, although there are rules for male and female students, girls are mainly punished for dress code violations, and the same dress code rules do not apply for both sexes. Young boys wear athletic shorts however, girls cannot, in some cases, girls cannot show their legs at all. In addition to the sexism in dress codes, is the sexual objectification and publicly shaming of young girls, who are told that showing their legs while wearing skirts is distracting to the male faculty; alongside being publicly shamed by being

For example leggings, leggings are one of the most popular clothing items that are now a days used a lot by females, but not only girls, female teachers use them too. If teachers would real want to re enforce dress code, they should set an example for us. And the consequences they give students sometimes go overboard. For example, The wrong choice could get you kicked out of class or suspended; and if you want to fight for your right to a hoodie or a short skirt, you and your parents may have to file suit and head for court. Sates the article, “Strict School Dress Codes Have Gone Beyond Safety Concerns”.

Some of our most powerful and lasting ideas about the world around us are learned at school. Hard work pays off, success comes from working together, and girls’ bodies are dangerous and harassment is inevitable. April of 2013, a six year old girl who attended Tussahaw Elementary School in McDonough, Georgia where administrators told her mother that her outfit "was inappropriate and a distraction to other students." Who exactly would be distracted by a kindergarteners’ skirt? According to hundreds of schools in the United States, it’s boys and male faculty. While being stopped by a teacher because my sleeveless shirt was only three fingers in width instead of four, I saw a boy walking towards us in a tank top and didn’t even gain a second glance from the same teacher. That was one of the many examples that support the fact that how dress code is sexist, shames and humiliates young girls, and promotes rape culture.