Pinky Crispin

Arionna Mejia
Mr. Gross
English 12 B (3)
6 May 2016
Problems with Dress Code in Schools
I felt violated in front of my peers. I was called out, and it was taking time from my
education ("Shame: A Documentary). It made me feel embarrassed and ashamed ("Shame: A
Documentary). These are quotes from students at Woodford County High School who created a
documentary called Shame to share their opinions on how harmful dress codes can be on a
persons emotions. There must no longer be a dress code in schools. The codes are a problem
because they do not protect children. Not only that, but also boys are not allowed to dress in
female attire, the dress codes are inconsistent, and girls are targeted and sexualized. It is common
for school administrators and teachers to believe if there is not a dress code, students will come
to school without enough clothing, and/or they will be a distraction to other students. What these
administrators do not understand is these problems would not exist if students were able to adjust
to no longer slut-shaming and judging other students based solely on their attire. The most
shocking, yet exceptional solution to these problems is to diminish the dress code all together.
Dress codes do absolutely nothing to protect children and their learning environment. The
rules set a social norm and cause students to lose their self expression and individuality. In
Colorado a third-grader was suspended after shaving her head to show support for a friend
battling cancer because she had violated her school's dress code banning shaved heads (Hoevel,
1). In 2013, 5-year-old Cooper Barton from Oklahoma City was told to turn his University of

Michigan T-shirt inside-out because it violated school rules stating students may only wear shirts
from Oklahoma colleges and universities (Hoevel, 1). In 2014, a Navajo kindergartener was
ridiculed for expressing her culture. She was sent home for having long hair because it broke her
school dress code, which dictated that hairstyles or designs that are disruptive or distractive to
the school environment are prohibited. (Kate, 1). This is a problem because dress codes must
not force a student to go against his/her culture and it was wrong for school administration to tell
this student her cultural hair was disruptive. In another case a Rastafarian teenager in Louisiana
was suspended for not cutting his religiously sanctioned dreadlocks, which were also against his
schools dress code rules. Ultimately, dress codes do not create equality; they suppress it by
trying to erase individuality and the unique backgrounds students bring with them to school
every day (Kate, 1). The fact these students were in trouble for expressing themselves and
supporting others is completely appalling. Dress codes must no longer exist and enforce such
ludicrous rules. Instead of protecting children, like the intended purpose, they only pressure
students to eliminate their originality and uniqueness. Dress codes must no longer exist.
Many schools, including Eastchester High School in New York and Saint Louis High
School in Michigan, take away the opportunity for male students to dress in female clothing.
This issue is not debated as much as other foolish dress code rules, but it is still immense because
there are no rules against females wearing male clothing, making it extremely unequal. If a male
student identifies himself as female and is transgender, usually he is more comfortable in female
apparel. The dress code ruling against males crossdressing is unacceptable and prevents
students from being comfortable as who they are. In November of 2009, a crossdressing Houston
senior was sent home because his wig violated the schools dress code rule that a boys hair may
not be longer than the bottom of a regular shirt collar (Hoffman 1). Where is the rule

disallowing short or long hair cuts for women? The fact that boys are not allowed to have long
hair at this particular school is alarming, unequal, and unjustified. The Suffolk school board in
England is talking about banning "clothing worn by a student that is not in keeping with a
students gender". The school board believes that by placing this rule, it will lessen the amount of
bullying that occurs (Sager, 1). This belief is absurd because it does not accept students who
identify themselves as a different gender. James M., who identifies himself as Natalie, says: By
my crossdressing I seek not to endanger any person. I seek only to discover more of myself and
to create a safe environment to experiment in." (Klein, 1). Natalie does not hurt nor harm anyone
by wearing female clothing, and neither do any students. Schools must not discriminate against
transgender people because of the fear of bullying. Instead of policing the victims of bullying for
what they are wearing, schools need to police the bullies for their unacceptable actions. Schools
must erase the dress code so students can feel free to express themselves and be comfortable with
who they are.
Dress codes in schools are inconsistently enforced. It is unacceptable for one student to
be punished for a certain outfit while another is free to wear whatever they please. Students who
attend Woodford County High School, located in Versailles, Kentucky, decided to speak up about
the discrepancies in their school: I got in trouble for a dress I had worn before, its really
inconsistent It can be okay to our peers and most teachers, but one person can call it
inappropriate and have us miss class I think only certain teachers enforce it because teachers
that dont agree with it dont enforce it as much. It is not consistently enforced. It varies day to
day who gets caught (Shame: A Documentary). This is proof from actual students attending
WCHS that dress codes in schools are not consistently enforced. While some teachers are very
strict about the dress code, others rarely enforce it. This divergence makes the dress code

ineffective (Baker, 1). When girls are involved in sports such as volleyball, cheerleading, or pom
pon, the dress code rules contradict themselves. They state that it is acceptable to wear their sport
uniforms to the games and competitions, but they are not appropriate for school. It is common
for athletes to wear their uniform on game day, but it is not allowed for these three specific
sports. What makes the uniforms acceptable for a game, but not for class? Dress code rules are
confusing and do not make sense. They contradict themselves and offer countless discrepancies.
The inconsistencies make dress codes ineffective and unequal. Therefore, dress codes in schools
must become antiquated.
The most debated complication with dress codes in schools involve the way female
students are targeted and sexualized by their peers and teachers. My boyfriend wore a pair of
soccer shorts that came above his knee and it was fine; no one said anything. He gave them to me
- I was wearing the exact same pair - and I was told it wasnt okay (Shame: A Documentary).
This is another quote coming from a student who attends WCHS in Kentucky. It is often said that
dress codes are mainly focused on female students. I got dress coded at my school for wearing
shorts. After I left the principals office with a detention, I walked past another [male] student
wearing a shirt depicting two stick figures: the male holding down the female's head in his crotch
and saying good girls swallow. Teachers walked right past him and didnt say a thing.
(Shame: A Documentary). But not only are females targeted with what they wear, they are also
excessively sexualized. When adult teachers insert themselves into the role of interpreting a
teens clothing, it is they who are overtly sexualizing children (Kate, 1). I think its sexualizing
women because I dont think my thighs, collar bones, or upper arms should be considered areas
of arousal. (Shame: A Documentary). Ellen Kate wrote an article called 4 Lies About School
Dress Codes That Cover Up Their Oppressive Effects In one portion of the article, she talks

about discipline versus victims responsibility: The problem is often compounded by a lack of
any attempt to discipline boys for harassing behavior, which drives home the message that it is
the victims responsibility to prevent. We have received thousands of testimonies from girls who
have complained about being verbally harassed, touched, groped, chased, followed, licked, and
assaulted at school, only to be told: he just likes you, or: boys will be boys. The hypocrisy is
breathtaking. Plus, it has been noted by plenty of people how dress codes are less about banning
particular clothes than they are about banning girls bodies (Kate, 1). Dress codes are harmful to
girls self esteem as they are constantly being told their bodies are shameful and should be
covered up. Female students are continually being targeted, sexualized, and ridiculed. The codes
do nothing but harm and it is necessary to abolish them.
Two common misconceptions about eliminating dress codes are students will come to
school wearing barely enough clothing to cover themselves or clothing will become a distraction
to other students. These issues are easily fixed with a little bit of time. Clothes would not be a
distraction if students were allowed to get used to seeing people in them without being told it is
wrong and scandalous. On HelloGiggles.com, a blog was written anonymously by a teenage girl
who went to a school with no dress codes at all. Without restrictions on what we wore, male and
female students alike learned to be comfortable in their own skin. (It Works, 1). The author
says it works because girls learned not to be judgemental, guys learned to respect females, and
the girls in her school learned how to be confident and express themselves. Almost every girl in
my grade went through a short shorts, crop top phase, especially as freshman. In a lot of high
schools, a girl would be ridiculed or slut shamed for dressing that way, but not at mine. By not
having regulations on what we wore, we realized that 14, 15, and 16 year old girls just need time
to figure it all out. They may realize that they dont have to show off so much skin to get their

crushs attention and tone it down by senior year or theyll figure out that they feel damn good in
those clothes and rock them all the way through high school. Regardless, being able to try out
those clothes always had a positive outcome and we learned not to be judgmental of each other.
(It Works, 1) In a school with no dress code, problems with judging and slut-shaming do not
exist. The author then begins to talk about the controversy involving clothing as a distraction: A
popular argument in favor of dress codes is to allow students to focus solely on academics,
without the distraction of certain clothing. However, that is not how the real world works. The
guys I went to high school with got accustomed to seeing girls in shorts, crop tops and
sundresses all of which would have been banned at a typical school. As they matured and
went through high school, my male classmates learned not to objectify the girls based on what
they wore. Being in a classroom environment with all genders in all types of clothing, the guys
learned to look past external appearance and treat the girl in the crop top the same as their friend
in basketball shorts. Best of all, they did it all on their own. (It Works, 1). Without a dress
code in place, students learn to be comfortable in their own skin. They learn by their mistakes
and wear what makes them feel comfortable in their bodies. Students are able to become more
mature as they learn not to judge each other by what they wear, and not to sexualize or objectify
anyone. Students need to learn how to fail. When someone learns that their obnoxious outfit is
not what they need to fit in, they tone down what they wear. When students are accustomed to
different styles and different types of self-expression, it is not a distraction. School dress codes
need to be removed from every school district.
The only way to assure the many problems are taken care of is to diminish the dress code
altogether. Dress codes create more problems than they solve and the irrelevent codes must be
terminated. Ellen Kate, author of 4 Lies About School Dress Codes That Cover Up Their

Oppressive Effects states: In all my years as a student, I never attended a school with a dress
code, and you know what? Neither my classmates nor I seemed to have suffered academically or
socially because I exposed my midriff or showed some leg. (Kate, 1) In the real world, schools
with dress codes only cause distractions when kids are being pulled from class and sent home
because of what they decided to wear. Dress codes cause many more problems than they solve,
and to fix these ridiculous problems, schools must put an end to dress codes.
School dress codes are ruining kids by making students follow social normalities and
forcing them to lose their individuality. They also are not accepting a person's right to be who
they want to be, and they are not consistent. The clothing people wear does not define them and
does not dictate whether or not another student is able to learn. Schools need to focus on more
important affairs which actually involve students education and make the senseless dress codes
obsolete.

Works Cited
Kate, Ellen. "4 Lies About School Dress Codes That Cover Up Their Oppressive Effects."
Everyday Feminism. N.p., 11 Dec. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Shame: A Documentary. Prod. Maggie Sunseri. Perf. Students Attending WCHS. N.p., 29 May
2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Hoevel, Ann. "When School Clothes Lead to Suspension." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 Mar.
2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Hoffman, Jan. "Can a Boy Wear a Skirt to School?" The New York Times. The New York Times,
07 Nov. 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Klein, Randall. "Insights and Comments from 12 Cross-dressers." "Light in the Closet" N.p., n.d.
Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Baker, Emily. "School Dress Code Should Be Re-evaluated." The Black & White. N.p., 24 Apr.
2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
"My School Doesn't Have a Dress Code and It Works." HelloGiggles. N.p., 17 Oct. 2015. Web.
29 Apr. 2016.
Sager, Jeanne. "School's Ban on 'Crossdressing' Is Like Giving Bullies a Gold Star." The Stir.
N.p., 11 Feb. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.