When talking about dress code among students, the first thing that comes up is how unfair it is. Most of the girls agree that school dress code only discriminates against the girls and not boys. The dress code rules are usually harder on the girls than it is on the boys. Should the dress code be so unfair?
School dress codes make girls feel self-conscious, ashamed, and uncomfortable in their own bodies. In school, you are supposed to learn who you are and find your confidence; for girls, it’s quite the opposite. Instead, girls feel shameful and are in constant fear of being called out for the outfit they're wearing. “It oppresses us and makes us feel like we need to be ashamed of our bodies. That they are dirty, inappropriate, and need to be hidden. Dress codes make us feel shameful.”
The message schools send to young women about dress code is disconcerting. For example, a school in the United Kingdom faced a furious storm of backlash in May from parents and students when it announced plans to ban girls from wearing skirts because it made male teachers “uncomfortable.” Multiple schools have dress codes to stop males from being distracted and feeling uncomfortable; however, the message that sends is that what males feel and want is more important than a girl's education.
There is a problem with making a girl feel like her education is less important than males. When a girl is taken out of class on a hot day for wearing a strappy top because she is “distracting” her male classmates, it portrays that his education is prioritized over hers. When a school makes the decision to police female student bodies while turning a blind eye to boys' immaturity and behavior, it sets up a lifelong assumption that sexual violence is inevitable.
Girls shouldn’t feel shameful because boys can’t control themselves. Instead of making girls feel ashamed, maybe we should be teaching boys how to act around girls and be respectful to them. Girls shouldn’t have to miss a full day of school or a class because her clothes are "distracting" boys.
