Schools all around the America have demonstrated a strong belief that dress code is an imperative part of how the school functions. In many ways, this belief rings true: in any learning environment, a degree of professionalism is important to ensure everyone is focused on what they're supposed to be there for -- learning. However, I've found many schools, mine in particular, have taken what is supposed to be a limitation of distractions to blatant slut-shaming and disallowing students to express themselves. Here are a couple examples, straight from my school's code of conduct handbook.

1. "Shorts are not permitted. Capri pants must be at least mid-calf length."

The mid-calf requirement is a rule unique to only my school. People, I live in Georgia. Sultry, humid, sweltering, Georgia. The rule wouldn't be so unbearable if our weather wasn't in the literal hundreds every single day. Save for wintertime, we live in a constant state of heat and melting. Our weather for this week alone contains numbers that should only be seen on our report cards.

So you can see why this rule is a bit much, especially when the air only works in half the classrooms of our school.

2. Hair color must be within the normal range, not green, blue, etc.

Another rule unique to only my school in our area, this is one of my least favorite dress code stipulations. When we ask why we can't dye our hair "unnatural" colors, the answers always vary, but each excuse can be easily countered.

"It's a distraction to the learning environment." -- Hair dye does not distract anyone from learning. That would be like saying one's backpack is distracting students from learning. Hair dye does not affect anyone's level of education in the classroom. In all honesty, my school spouts their desire to prepare us for the "real world" but places us in a stifling bubble like keeping us from having "unnatural" hair. In so many colleges there are hundreds of students with crazy hair colors and somehow, teaching is able to occur in those classrooms.

"It's unprofessional." -- School is about many, many things. One of them is not professionalism. On some level I do agree that some restrictions are for the betterment of the entire school (booty shorts, for example) but on the other hand, we will never have the desire to express ourselves as we did in our preteen and teen years, the very years schools are trying to stop us from doing so.

I go to a fine arts school. In absolutely every aspect of our learning do they encourage us to be who we are and express ourselves. This dress code stipulation is completely contradictory of what they try and tell us. Be who you are -- express yourself! Just not by your hair. How dare you sabotage our perfect learning environment.

If they're worried about distractions, why not put in a working air conditioner that reaches all of our classrooms, so I'm not distracted by the literal sweat dripping down my face in hundred degree weather?

3. Leggings are considered an accessory and are to be covered by the appropriate length skirt, dress or other garment.

The debate of our generation

: are leggings pants?

Whatever your answer, let me provide an anecdote as to why I believe this sexist rule should be banished not only from my school but from schools across America.

It's 2016, and I still have to prioritize a boy's education over mine. I am sitting in the secretary's office after getting caught out of dress code. The secretary is a sweet woman who gives me a look of sympathy as I wait. I hear the clock tick behind me; minutes go by as I recall that morning. I got up at 5:45am in order to catch my 6:30 bus. I was completely exhausted from the night before, up late studying for a history quiz I had the next day. The very history quiz I am missing at this very moment because I dared don my black leggings with an oversized T-shirt that just didn't quite fit the strict standards of my school's dress code. I chose comfort over following the rules. But a teacher well-known for catching any dress code violators dragged me out of homeroom that morning and plopped me down until they figured out what to do with me. I should've known better; leggings may as well be "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named" at this school; they are heavily frowned upon by faculty and coveted by girls who cherish comfort everywhere. I just wanted a break from the rough texture of denim jeans. Leggings allow me to move freely and feel unrestricted. None of that matters now, though. I return to class an entire 45 minutes later in very oversized sweats that they found for me at the bottom of the lost-and-found. I am greeted at the claps from my classmates who understand my struggle. Never have I felt so apart of a group of people. When you miss class for a dress code violation, you "will receive a zero in all classes missed." But that day, with only five minutes left in class, I got a perfect 100 on the quiz. Take that, dress code enforcers.

The only reason I've been given as to why I can't wear leggings is the fact that they "are a distraction to boys." This rule is a blatant sexualization of girls' bodies, one that makes girls fold in half to make room for the boys at the school. It isn't about our safety or education, it is a rule that essentially reminds us that our bodies are not our own, that we are to cover up, for men are animals that surely cannot control themselves, and we must do everything in our power to appease them and make sure their learning environment is not disrupted.

But God forbid I miss all of class for a violation, right?

4. Skirts, shorts, skorts and pants must be fitted at the waist and must be at a minimum to the knee area in length. The school board deems miniskirts to be disruptive and they are not allowed.

My problem with this is the fact that it's aimed at girls. Let's make the sweeping generalization that no boys don skirts of any kind throughout the school year (and honestly, I'd bet money on that; this is the south after all, everyone's scared to challenge the rules of masculinity.) Then this rule would only be aimed at girls. Why are miniskirts disruptive? Because they can see our -- Excuse my language

-- thighs?

Let me take a step back -- I understand a need for a rule on the length of our skirts. We don't need buttcheeks to flash us everywhere we go in the hallway or in class -- but to our knee? It's obvious that this rule is aimed at girls to, once again, protect their male classmates from being distracted. Why do our school boards find the gripping need to sexualize our bodies and make sure they do everything they can to prioritize men's education over women's? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with mexism.

This is rape culture, people. Telling women that it's our job to cover up, not the boy's job to control himself, is what let Brock Turner walk free in the Stanford rape case a few months back. Well, that combined with a heaping dose of white privilege.

I'm starting to see a pattern here in these rules.

Another problem I have with this is that, even if they are old ugly grandma skirts, at least girls get to take a break from wearing those half-calf pants we discussed earlier. Boys don't, because boys can either wear jeans or half-calf jeans/khakis. Unless they step outside of the patriarchal box that prohibits them from wearing skirts. But, this is the south, and that's never going to happen. So where does the relief from heat come from for boys?

Rhetorical question. It doesn't.

These are just a few examples of how my school takes dress code too far. Several of the rules we have in place are reasonable and are there to create a safe and focused learning environment, but some are there because of years of human conditioning that has made people believe that sexualization of girls' bodies is the norm and we should do everything in our power to make girls cover up and not teach boys how to control themselves.

I'm sure our school's dress code was made with good intentions. But the rules are outdated and need to be revised. We should be able to express ourselves and wear what we want. We should teach men to respect women and not women to hide or be ashamed of their bodies.

Just remember: we are 14-18 years old. If our thighs, shoulders, or chests make you uncomfortable, you are the problem.