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Ashlyn Cannon
Mrs. Hensel
English IV
02 November 2015
Dress Codes
On a daily basis, females in high school are degraded and humiliated for wearing tank
tops, leggings, or any other clothing item that breaks their dress code, while male students have
little to no code at all. Schools should be a safe place for students, but many females feel
uncomfortable and unwelcome. It is extremely embarrassing for the student to be called out, in
front of her peers, to be told that her outfit is inappropriate. The main problem is not the actual
dress code, but the underlying message it sends. Schools use humiliating techniques to enforce
their dress codes for girls.
The excuses school administrators use to justify the dress code makes females feel
uncomfortable and objectified. Male students and teachers especially, should not feel
uncomfortable around young girls wearing shorts, tight pants or tank tops. If you feel like a
certain part of a body is inappropriate, it is because you are sexualizing that body part. There was
a school in the UK that got a lot of backlash when it announced plans to ban girls from wearing
skirts because they make male teachers feel uncomfortable (Hardesty). One student says, Its
really uncomfortable to think you could be walking around the corridors and teachers will be
looking you up and down. Im not the only person who feels that way (Horan). Telling girls that
theyre too distracting for boys is making them feel guilty for the actions of boys. Boys should
be taught not to sexually objectify girls bodies, instead of girls being taught to cover themselves.

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These rules and punishments are building up a culture where girls are receiving very clear
messages that male behavior, male entitlement to your body in public space is socially
acceptable (Bates).
Female students are being forced to wear shame suits. Being forced to wear this outfit is
supposed to be embarrassing, and it works. By forcing their students to wear this outfits, the
school bullies and violates the females rights. Many schools are not only punishing their female
students for their clothing choices, but males too. Some schools are began humiliating their boys
who decide to express themselves with makeup or non-traditional clothing. Schools are often
establishing rigid gendered stereotypes. They need to admit this and revamp their own
outdated codes (Marty).
Students feel like there is a lack of consistency in the school dress code. Girls get unfairly
targeted and called out on breaking dress code much more often than boys. Students believe that
dress codes need to be more consistent and be equitable and be fair to everyone (Bowers).
Many students are even protesting these gender-biased dress codes (Bowers). Some girls are
also dress-coded more often than others. This could be because some are more developed than
others, but if theyre going to call out one girl for wearing something, they should call out
another girl for wearing the same thing. One female student has even heard, "If you were smaller,
you could wear this and it would be fine (Fox News).
Dress codes could make the females feel oppressed, judged and ashamed. Some teachers
and administrators have even made derogatory remarks to students in the past while enforcing
dress code (Bowers). One student recalls a teacher saying to her, You might as well be wearing
underwear. I cant believe you walked out the door like that (Bowers). It is unreasonable for
teachers to make comments on their students outfits. Students feel like they are being judged by

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their school administrators when they make remarks about their clothing choices. Its teaching
them that their bodies are dirty and inappropriate and need to be hidden (Hardesty). Many
students feel extremely ashamed of their bodies, when being repeatedly taught all their life that
their bodies are something to be hidden.
Teachers and administrators should take a different approach to dress-code violators.
Young females are already at a time in their lives where they are becoming aware of their
changing bodies, they do not need to be necessarily policed and made sure that everyone else
notices their bodies too. Many girls that are smaller are able to wear clothes deemed
inappropriate and get away with it, opposed to bigger girls. Students feels attacked and
victimized by their school dress codes. When a student violates the dress code, the administrator
should be kind, accepting and make sure students understand why (Wiseman). We need a
clear, consistent policy with no judgement (The Associated Press). If administrators could
approach the females with a nonjudgemental, polite approach, I dont believe there would be as
many issues with dress codes.
Males clearly get a privilege at school when it comes to dress codes. While a female
student would get called out for wearing a tank top, a male student wearing the same style tank
top most likely wouldnt. Teaching girls from a young age that males get a privilege over them,
and that their bodies are there purely for a boy to get distracted by, can be very damaging. The
current dress code in most American schools is extremely outdated, gender-biased and sexist.

Work Cited
Boboltz, Sara. "These Quotes From Students Nail Everything That's Wrong With School Dress

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Codes." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 1 June 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
"Dress Code Dilemma: Where Should Schools Draw the Line?" NY Daily News. The Associated
Press, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
Hardesty, Greg. "Do School Dress Codes Unfairly Target Girls?" The Orange County Register. 1
Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
Horan, Molly. "High School Girl Is Told Tight Pants Will Distract Her Male Teachers (Yep, You
Read That Right)." Refinery29. 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
"What Should Students Wear? Who Decides? Dress Codes Can Be a Real Minefield for Schools."Fox
News. FOX News Network, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
Wiseman, Rosalind. "The Unspoken Messages of Dress Codes: Uncovering Bias and Power." The
Unspoken Messages of Dress Codes: Uncovering Bias and Power. ADL, 1 Sept. 2014. Web.
14 Nov. 2015.

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