Ladies and gentlemen, school is back in session! With school comes a whole bunch of other things too: rules, regulations, curfews, homework, fewer hours at work (maybe), and colder weather. For college students, some of these items don't really apply, at least not to the degree that they do for middle school and high school students.
Let's get straight to the point, though...dress codes. In college, you can basically wear whatever you want...sweats, leggings, tank tops, flip flops, bagging clothing, skin tight clothing, etc. Within reason of course. Nobody should be running about in their birthday suit basically. Because that could be grounds for some hefty assault charges, not to mention a change of schools...
Anyways, college students have it a lot easier in the dress code aspect, (depending on the college I am sure). We no longer have to make sure our shoulders are covered, or--if we were allowed to wear tank tops at all--that the straps are three fingers wide. We no longer have to measure our clothing length by our fingertips, or pull our pants up if our underwear is showing a little bit. We do not go into our classrooms in fear that our college professors will deem our attire inappropriate and send us home.
Unfortunately, middle school and high school students live in fear of this as soon as they walk into the building.They may feel sensibly dressed, following all codes and requirements, only for one teacher to find some aspect of it completely against their code, and you get sent to the office, or publicly shamed. At least, that is what it certainly seems like here of late.
When I was in high school, our shoulders had to be covered as well as our midriffs, and the length of our skirts, shorts, and dresses had to be past the fingertips. The boys couldn't wear tank tops either, and had to have their underwear covered. Many things have changed since then, at least from what I have seen.
Within the past month, especially with school starting back up, I have seen three separate posts on Facebook, that express a parent's anger at their child being sent home because they are not following the dress code according to the school. Every time I see these posts, I examine the outfit to see what could possibly be the issue. You know what I witness? NOTHING.
Absolutely nothing!
The one high school girl, was sent home twice because her outfit was not deemed inappropriate. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Apparently, her t-shirts--which both came to her waistline--must go past her butt, and reach her fingertips. She wasn't showing any skin besides her arms, and neither t-shirt had any obscene or offensive logo on it.
Another post I witnessed, was of an 11-year-old girl. The school made her wear borrowed sweatpants all day, and would not allow the child to call her parents so they could bring her a change of clothes. The outfit she was wearing was inappropriate because her shirt was not deemed "long enough" to be appropriate. Much like the case above, except with a younger girl. This child's shirt was almost to the tops of her knees, and was layered! Please justify how that is "inappropriate" and not "long enough".
Finally, the third post I had scrolled to find, was that of a 9-year-old girl! Her outfits, again, a t-shirt and some pants, were not "loose" enough. They were too "form fitting" because her stomach is rounded, not "flat". The child is 9-years old! Everything was appropriately covered. Does this not scream "body shaming" to you? Who body shames a 9-year-old child?
Many times, not always, it is the females that are being singled out for their attire. The number one reason for this? It is because of the theory that "boys cannot stay focused on their education when a female is showing too much skin". When did this type of sexualization start? When did it become okay for people to dictate that females are the ones who must change their ways--in this case their form of dress--so that boys can pay better attention, rather than teach our boys to not sexualize the female body, and be respectful?
They are also implying, in a roundabout way, that a male student's education is more important than a female's, because her wearing appropriate clothing is more important. So not only does the dress code sexualize the body of children and teenagers alike, it also shows some signs of sexim.
Frankly, I also believe that the school systems are not giving their male students enough credit, by implying that they would be so easily distracted. On another note:
Every school is different: different in practices, different in rules, and different in dress codes and how they address them. Not all schools have a ridiculous set of dress regulations, and then torment, embarrass, and harass those who "apparently" do not comply to them. Not every school seems to single out girls specifically when addressing attire.
The problem with the above statement is this: "NOT EVERY SCHOOL DOES THIS". The correct school should be: "NO SCHOOL DOES THIS". Schools need to stop implementing these terrible dress codes that are not clear-cut enough, are too "in-control" of what a student wears, and harassing those who potentially misinterpret the code. Trust me, it is not too hard to figure out those students who blatantly ignore the rules, and those who just misunderstood an aspect or two.
Dress codes are certainly a good thing to have, but when implemented incorrectly, there's a problem.
