Dress codes discriminate against girls
Earlier this month, Buzzfeed published an article about a viral Facebook post from college student Erica Edgerly. The post featured a picture of Edgerly’s younger sister Macy, a high school honors student and senior in Texas, wearing leggings and a loose, almost knee-length shirt. In the post, Edgerly revealed that her sister was sent home from school wearing those clothes. She slammed the school for judging girls on the basis of their clothes. Edgerly said, “People wonder why women feel insecure about their bodies or what they wear … And it’s because you’re told your clothing is inappropriate when you’re fully clothed, even when you’re not showing cleavage or anything.” Edgerly went on to say that the mentality of her sister’s school administration contributed to patriarchy and rape culture in today’s society. These problems are deeply rooted, Edgerly concluded, and they are more important than punishing girls on basis of dress code policies.
The post was shared over 80,000 times within a week. As a result, a very important dialogue has been opened about sexism and misogyny in K-12 schools. After all, this issue certainly isn’t restricted to this one Texas high school. In summer 2014, there was a nationwide movement in which students staged walk-outs at their schools to protest perceived sexist dress codes perpetuating a mindset that led to “slut shaming” of high school girls and, ultimately, rape culture. This made an impact. By September 2014, #Iammorethanadistraction was trending on Twitter.
Many schools throughout the United States have limitations on the dress code. These restrictions can range from the requirement of formal attire or the banning of certain items of clothing, like spaghetti straps and leggings. Sometimes these laws interfere with students’ self-expression, but most of the time, they are implemented to uphold a productive learning environment. What has become apparent, however, is that restrictions on student attire are sexist and degrading to the female population. It is not the responsibility of the school to restrict girls on something so harmless such as what they choose to wear.
It could be said that school dress codes walk a very fine line. How one should dress is very much dependent on certain settings. People’s appearance definitely contribute to how they are perceived. For that reason, dressing appropriately is an important skill to learn, and while freedom of expression should never be oppressed, pretending that anyone can wear any article of clothing and not be judged is too idealistic. In the end, though, it all comes down to the reasoning the school provides. Dress codes put in place on grounds of developing future professionalism are justifiable. If any female student is told what to wear to pacify male counterparts, however, a serious problem becomes apparent. Indeed, girls are more than just a distraction.
Thus, the dress code rules punish girls for boys’ lack of self control. On the grander scale, these restrictions will contribute to the justification of sexual assault. The gross notion that women, when provocatively dressed, are “asking for it” starts with something seemingly benign such as sending a student home for how she is dressed.
It is simply unacceptable to shame girls and women in this way. Though telling girls that they cannot dress a certain way because it may be distracting might seem like a small thing to many schools, the principles underlying it are very serious. As dress code restrictions unfairly target the female student body, it suggests that girls are seen as physical objects and that women only serve the desires of men. In a learning environment, a girl’s responsibility is to be a student who should have to worry about getting sent home for how she dresses.
Women are more than their clothes. Hillary Clinton is more than a pantsuit; female actresses are more than their red carpet moments and female students are more than the dress code.