Many would dare to say that, in this new day and age, sexism is a concept that has been completely and utterly demolished. In fact, many would argue that, in society today, men and women are treated completely equally. While, yes, it is true that great strides have been taken along the path to eliminate sexism, it still remains prevalent in our society. In many ways, women are not treated as the equals to men, still, despite countless years of progress. Of course, there are several examples that I could list, such as the pay difference between men and women, or perhaps even the fact that women still are not hired as often for jobs that are typically deemed "manly jobs," but the example that I want to bring up in this article is the topic of gender bias in school uniforms.
For schools that enforce a specific uniform, or even a dress code policy, like many tend to do, there is a certain bias that exists. For young girls/women, there is significantly more pressure placed upon them to make sure that their dress is considered appropriate. There are also certain things that men can get away with that women cannot. For example, there are some places of learning where men can wear things such as cut off shirts, booty shorts, muscle shirts, wife beaters, etc., and not be told anything about it. However, women find themselves being ridiculed and punished for wearing regular clothes that fit and are comfortable.
There is also the argument that young girls are taught to be ashamed of their bodies. From a young age, girls might be taught that their bodies are sinful or bad because young, hormonal, dare I say, "thirsty" boys keep staring at them. This may also be one of the causes of self-esteem problems in some girls. The fact that girls are told to completely cover themselves and boys are not punished for undressing a girl with their eyes says a lot about the amount of sexism that still remains in schools all across the world today.
There is also the issue of girls who develop earlier than most. Often, these girls are forced to cover up their bodies because of something that is completely out of their control: puberty. It is not their fault that they developed early, but they might think that it is because of the fact that, in some schools, and some educators, would rather tell them to cover up instead of teaching boys not to ogle at a girl and be respectful towards her and her body.
Of course, this is obviously not true for all schools. I, for one, think that I went to a high school that maintained rather fair uniform/dress code regulations. I am only saying that this unfair treatment of girls/women honestly needs to stop. As I write this, I know that there are girls/women out there who are struggling to cope with their school's strict uniform/dress code enforcement policies. All I can do for them is hope that they can get through their struggles and, hopefully, manage to overcome them and emerge as strong, happy women.
