If you know me - personally, through social media, or by following my Odyssey articles - by this point you’ve probably figured out that I have strong opinions about a lot of things, and that I’m not one to stand idly by when I have a chance to voice my opinion.
This week, I’m going to share with you my opinions on public school dress codes, and how completely ridiculous I find them to be.
Last week, I got a slightly distressing message from my younger sister. Apparently, she had been dress coded for wearing distressed jeans and was told by the offended teacher that she could either put on leggings under her jeans or change her pants altogether.
There are several problems with that situation: one, the dress code (which we’ll take a closer look at in a minute) is rather vague, and it was, therefore, a completely subjective decision by the teacher to dress code, my sister. Two, the section on dress code is prefaced by “dress must not interrupt the educational process. That’s all well and good, but I think it’s certainly more disruptive to my sister’s educational process to demand that she leave class to change her clothes than it is to anybody around her being privy to the fact that she has legs.
Now, let’s take a closer look at her school’s dress code:
It should also be noted that this section in prefaced with “students are encouraged to dress responsibility, as their doing so will help promote acting like responsible adults.” It is therefore amazing to me, that I a rather responsible adult, can dress however I very well please to attend class and I can still learn, my peers can learn, and my teachers can teach, all without finding it necessary to objectify me for my clothing choices.
It’s not that I necessarily have a problem with rules. In some instances, dress codes are absolutely necessary. For example, I am required to wear a uniform shirt and hat to work, and I have a very specific uniform to wear for marching band. Those are logical situations in which to require a certain form of dress. However, general, everyday life does not require a dress code, particularly when it is subjective and vague, not completely enforceable, and aimed mainly at objectifying girls.
Bullet one of the dress code is pretty dense. Let’s look specifically at the first clause, which is what brought us here today:
“All attire should be neat, clean and without holes in inappropriate locations.”
The first clause, that all attire should be without holes in inappropriate locations, is presumably what got my sister in trouble with the dress code. Okay, perhaps she was violating a rule, but what does “holes in inappropriate locations” mean? Is the dress code, in fact, referring to distressed jeans, or is it talking about ragged and tattered clothing? Which in turn leads to the question, how are we determining what an “inappropriate location” is? Jeans cover the legs. Distressed jeans potentially expose those legs. Explain to me just how exactly a leg is inappropriate because it’s not. Because this clause is vague and completely subjective, there is no way that it can ever be enforced to any degree of consistency. What might cause one faculty member to say “hmm this is inappropriate” might be completely fine with another?
The second main problem that I have with this dress code on a whole is the fact that it is aimed specifically at girls. Dress codes that say “no leggings unless your ass is covered” objectify minors. If you, as an adult educator, can’t handle the sight of a student in leggings, perhaps you are the problem. Shoulders, backs, and cleavage are all other appendages banned by this dress code. Here’s the thing: bodies are not inherently sexual. Instead of shaming girls and objectifying them with misogynistic dress codes that perpetuate negative body image that high school girls get enough of through various types of media, why don’t we instead aim to empower girls?
If the time and energy that was spent on policing dress was instead focused empowering girls, through means such as spending time teaching them how to eat well and fuel their bodies right, or encouraging them to apply various scholarships, or teaching them how to budget manage money, or providing them with opportunities to volunteer and make a difference in their community, then you might actually be preparing them for life as a responsible adult.
