Alyssa DiTota
Professor Gneergaard
Speech 11000
8th December 2019
School Dress Code
Raise your hand if you’ve ever received repercussions for violating a school dress code? How many of you felt that it was unfair? In schools across the nation, young girls are subjected to dress code standards so as not to pose a distraction from any male students’ education. If girls violate the dress code, their consequence I s a disruption in their own education via in-school suspension or being sent home. These dress code rules set up sexist mindsets and teach girls to hold themselves responsible for boy’s lack of self-control. According to an article on hercampus.com entitled “Dress Code Sexism” the author writes “Policies are almost always directed strictly towards girls; some even specify for girls only. These dress codes are not only sexist toward women, but they limit their expression and comfort in so many ways” (Miller). That is why I am here to advocate for the elimination of the school dress code so we can put an end to disruptions in girls’ educations by sexist institutions that cease to hold boys responsible for their own behavior. During this speech I will be explaining what the dress code typically entails, sharing some stories of controversial dress code scenarios and explaining why these rules contribute to sexism amongst children that carries into adulthood.
According to StudentNewsdaily.com an article entitled NYC Dress Code Crackdown lists a variation of school dress code violations that include: Low cut tank tops/blouses, no visible midriff or undergarments and all shorts and skirts must reach past the fingertips when hands are relaxed and at the sides and no leggings or skinny jeans. Some schools even the ban visible color bones. These rules are aimed primarily at female- identifying students. Some argue that the rules are set in place to promote professionalism, but t-shirts and baggy sweatpants are oftentimes not banned and are far from professional.
These rules send poor messages to students, and there are some pretty disturbing stories about controversial dress code situations. For example, on People.com there is an article following the story of a 17-year-old student named Lucy. Her mother received a call from her crying daughter at work because she had been pulled out of class during one of her exams and sent to the principal’s office due to a dress code violation. The male principle claimed that Lucy’s dress was too short and when her mother arrived to inform him that the measurements of the dress were in fact within code, he claimed to disagree and had Lucy removed from the campus for the day. Lucy’s mother retold the conversation she had with the principle; “He was pretty graphic in saying that boys could be taking pictures of her as she’s climbing up the stairs or making lewd comments. It was all very sexual in nature,” Rosey says. “Like, ‘I’m helping you by protecting her from these sexually driven boys,’ to which I’m like, ‘Why don’t you teach the boys not to be like that? Why is it the girls who have to comply, but the boys are okay?’ But he just dismissed that.” I found another example on Insider.com where two girls protested at their high school because they were both removed from class and placed in in-school suspension because their bra straps were showing. One of the girls, with the name Johnston, said “I spoke out because it was very degrading to keep getting pulled out of my education for something so silly. I knew going forward with this would get backlash, but it was a risk I was willing to take because I believe that something should be changed,” she said. “I believe in equality and women’s rights. I should be able to speak my opinion without being disciplined.”
Putting these restrictions on female-identifying students makes them aware of their sexuality in a context where they probably aren’t thinking about it. It’s such a shame that in a place such as school, which is meant to protect and better students, young girls are subjected to reminders of a hypersexual society where they are viewed as sexual objects rather than people. When we teach girls that they are responsible for adjusting their dress to protect themselves and their male counterparts from distraction, you are blaming them for something they have nothing to do with. How is it fair to remove a student from their education because somebody else is having inappropriate thoughts about them? This type of structure heavily promotes rape culture to an age group where its crucial to circumvent this type of behavior to ensure that when they are adults, they will not have these harmful mindsets. In an article written for the odysseyonline the author writes: “School dress codes encourage the idea that women’s body parts need to be concealed, that it is our fault for attracting attention for what we are wearing or encouraging sexual behavior in men. This is the same argument often used to justify rape. It shouldn’t matter if young girls decide to wear tank tops or tight pants to school. If boys are distracted by the obvious sexual nature of a girls’ shoulders, then his behaviors should be monitored, not hers. Similarly, if a woman is scantily clad at a party, the culprit of sexual assault should be shamed, not the woman just trying to express her personal style in an outfit she feels comfortable in”.
In conclusion, women’s bodies are not bad, and they are not distractions. They are simply bodies and we need to rethink the way we view women in this society and the best way to do this is through educating young people about these sexist institutions so they can grow to critically examine the rules set in place and change them when it is their time. School dress codes are such an outward and obvious injustice to women and if you agree with this, I suggest you go to school board meetings and advocate for changes in school codes.
Lakritz, Talia. “18 Times Students And Parents Said School Dress Codes Went Too Far”. Insider, 2019, https://www.insider.com/school-dress-code-rules-controversy-2018-8#mallory-johnston-and-grace-wood-protested-their-schools-policy-of-banning-bra-straps-from-showing-3.
Travis, Hannah. “Dress Codes Promote Rape Culture”. The Odyssey Online, 2019, https://www.theodysseyonline.com/dress-codes-promote-rape-culture.
Mazziotta, Julie. “Https://People.Com”. PEOPLE.Com, 2019, https://people.com/bodies/dress-code-controversy-high-school-girl/.
Miller, Emily. “Dress Code Sexism”. Her Campus, 2019, https://www.hercampus.com/school/akron/dress-code-sexism.
