As a female myself, I do have a few critiques of this piece. First off, I do think you seem to overlook one of the main purposes of a scrupulous dress code, and that is to enforce the idea that there is a place and a time to dress a certain way. Once you get to the workforce, dress codes are ubiquitous, therefore, it makes sense for schools to expect a certain level of decorum in the way their students dress. Obviously, I'd agree that the code ought to be enforced equally among both sexes, I just think boys/ men seem to run into less trouble with a dress code because most men's style seems to be more conservative anyway. Second, you seem to imply that men or people in generel possess the ability to control their thoughts or consciousness. This just is not true. Sexual thoughts in particular are controlled by the amygdala of the limbic system, one of the most primitive parts of the brain. Therefore, we possess very little control our these thoughts. To imply that it is the boy's fault for having sexual thoughts is just psychologically and cognitively incorrect, very puritan, and destructive for a young boy's esteem as well. Obviously, yes, behavior can be controlled and if a boy chooses to act on these thoughts, that is completely his fault. Therefore, to expect a level of decorum and modesty from both men and women among a school dress code is important. After all, school is to learn. This is one of the reasons why many dress codes prevent religious/ political symbols to be worn because it is not the time or place to wear such. Third, you are obviously very passionate. But before you published this, I would advise looking over your spelling and grammar. It takes away from your ethos as a writer. Same for all the obscenities, a lot of readers may see it as sophomoric. Good work though!
And, anyway, the fact that girls get blamed for the problems of the ####### boys of my school is total bull####. It's the worst. It's not our fault that boys misbehave! We can't control them!
I know! It's so unfair that the girls are blamed for what the boys are thinking/feeling. We are not in control of their thoughts! If they're being creepy and checking us out despite the fact that we're not even wearing anything revealing, they're the ones who need to change.
How can I help change my school's dress code? Can you give me advice? Our dress code is ridiculously sexist, because girls aren't even allowed to wear flip flops(while boys can), tanks(again, WHILE BOYS CAN), and leggings with shirts that cover our backside! Ugh, someone needs to change it!
@BedazzledBlue, Thanks so much for your advice! I will use as best I can when school gets back in session! (Since I'm not at school because 1. Summer vacation and 2.corona)
Wow, your dress code sounds unfair! Here are some ideas. You could try talking to your principal or another faculty member/administrator about your concerns. You could put up posters that protest the dress code. If you google 'sexist dress codes' you can get a lot of ideas for posters in the image results. You could talk to other students and form a club or a group that is against the dress code. You could get you and a bunch of other girls to wear clothes that purposely break your dress code because it would be hard to punish or send home all of you at once. Strength is in numbers! You could start a petition and gather signatures from other students. It doesn't have to be official or fancy or anything, just proof that lots of people want the dress code to change. Hope this helped!
I agree with both parts. I went to a Catholic high school that had a uniform and the bullshit girls endured because of that was ridiculous. I also went to Catholic elementary schools that enforced sexist dress codes so from my experience the over sexualization and shaming of young girls comes largely from religious culture. They teach that women are responsible for not "making their brothers fall into sin." This allows people to blame girls and women if they get sexually harassed or assaulted. It's a way for men to control and subjugate women and they start young. Dress codes are reasonable enough but not when there's ridiculous double standards.
@Nicole Armas, Thank you for your acceptance and kind words 💕 There are certainly many wrong things in the world but it's because of people like you in the world that I can be confident and happy in myself.
@BedazzledBlue, I hate when people use their religion to be a bigot too. One of the reasons I ended up leaving Catholicism (besides the sexism and other nonsensical beliefs) is how homophobic and transphobic they are. I'm not part of the LGBT+ community but the discriminatory teachings that they try to sugar coat never sat right with me. It's okay to be gay they said but you MUST be celibate. Bullshit. LGBT+ people are spiritually "broken" and "disordered". Bullshit. I'm sorry you had to put with that, you're not worthless and no one should be made to feel worthless due to things that are beyond their control like their orientation, sex, gender, etc. I'm glad that your immediate family is accepting though!
Absolutely, the double standards are so idiotic and unreasonable. The fact that the girls are blamed for the boy's behaviors or thoughts is bullshit. And the girls being so young only makes it worse. Sexual harrassment and assault is so unbelievably wrong, especially when the victims are teenaged girls! Although I'm not religious in any way, I have a relative who is extremely religious and it is ridiculous how excessively sexist and homophobic she is whenever I visit her. When I was only 12 or 13, she used to corner me and my brothers and ask us outright if we were gay. I had been coming to terms with my sexuality and realizing that I was bisexual at the time, and I'm sure that if I told her that, she would have told me to go burn in hell and that my very existence was invalid and wrong, and then she would've immediately disowned me from the family. She's part of the reason that it took me so long to come out to my family. My immediate family is super caring and accepting, but my grandparents made me feel so worthless. Not all religion or religious people are bad, but I hate when people use their religion as a way to spread prejudice, sexism, racism, and homophobia.
I red both parts and I must say, that I agree, but only partially. Dress code can be sometimes too much. I see nothing bad in showing some collar bone or shoulder, wearing shorts or a skirt that isn't at a nun-length. However, and this is a big one, there is a limit how short is too short and how deep too deep of a cleavage is. In my country we have no specific dress code - t-shirt, skirt, tank-top - everything goes. Still, when we were in 5/6 grade there was the high-fashion of belt-skirts (basically barely covering your behind). I have to say, I found it quite shameful, since it made one look really like a paid night butterfly (if you catch my drift). Still, it was somewhat tolerated. Now, call me an old hag, but I don't find it appropriate for someone to wear a shirt where your boobs are about to fall out, or a skirt that is virtually absent. As for sun glasses - this was the only thing that was taboo for us at school... o.k., that and running shirtless in the school premises. And I support it. Showing your eyes during a conversation, and a class is supposed to be a form of conversation between teacher and students, is a show of respect. And being a boy and running shirtless... well as far as I could remember my school days, all of us girls had quite the raging hormones and were quite distracted by the occasional shirt getting accidentally lost during PE...
All in all, too strict dress code is stupid and laughable. But as much as clothes are a form of expressing yourself, school is not a fashion show. I find it sad if someone can not find another way to express themselves other than wearing something that barely passes as body-coverage.
I agree with your line of thought. I don't think that dress codes should be eliminated because I think that kids, considering that they're ages 13-18 and minors, should wear clothing that isn't super provocative. And like you said, students should be focusing on school and not clothing. However, the point of the articles is to criticize the instances in which a girl is wearing something that's completely appropriate, like leggings or a tank top, which aren't revealing at all, and yet she gets dress coded. I only mean to say that dress codes should be revised to be less strict and specific so that girls can dress comfortably and for the weather without having a tiny detail, like a bra strap momentarily showing, get them sent home. I understand why you would be bothered by a girl dressing in such a revealing way that you would actually be distracted. But you can't really control the way that others dress. Perhaps some girls like to show some skin to feel confident. I'm trying not to take sides or offend anyone because in the end, I just want dress codes to be gender neutral and a little less harsh.
First off, I do think you seem to overlook one of the main purposes of a scrupulous dress code, and that is to enforce the idea that there is a place and a time to dress a certain way. Once you get to the workforce, dress codes are ubiquitous, therefore, it makes sense for schools to expect a certain level of decorum in the way their students dress. Obviously, I'd agree that the code ought to be enforced equally among both sexes, I just think boys/ men seem to run into less trouble with a dress code because most men's style seems to be more conservative anyway.
Second, you seem to imply that men or people in generel possess the ability to control their thoughts or consciousness. This just is not true. Sexual thoughts in particular are controlled by the amygdala of the limbic system, one of the most primitive parts of the brain. Therefore, we possess very little control our these thoughts. To imply that it is the boy's fault for having sexual thoughts is just psychologically and cognitively incorrect, very puritan, and destructive for a young boy's esteem as well. Obviously, yes, behavior can be controlled and if a boy chooses to act on these thoughts, that is completely his fault. Therefore, to expect a level of decorum and modesty from both men and women among a school dress code is important. After all, school is to learn. This is one of the reasons why many dress codes prevent religious/ political symbols to be worn because it is not the time or place to wear such.
Third, you are obviously very passionate. But before you published this, I would advise looking over your spelling and grammar. It takes away from your ethos as a writer. Same for all the obscenities, a lot of readers may see it as sophomoric. Good work though!
All in all, too strict dress code is stupid and laughable. But as much as clothes are a form of expressing yourself, school is not a fashion show. I find it sad if someone can not find another way to express themselves other than wearing something that barely passes as body-coverage.
Thanks for sharing your perspective!