Discrimination In Dress Codes
From measuring skirts with rulers to sending students home for “indecent attire”, school administrators across the United States continue to enforce dress codes that are often excessively regulated and unreasonable. Dress codes are sets of rules that regulate what students can and cannot wear. In 1996, then-president Bill Clinton claimed that school uniforms could stop violence and truancy and increase attendance. As a result, school districts across the nation implemented dress codes. While they were originally intended to promote positive behavior, many have raised complaints that the dress codes inhibit students’ freedom of expression. In addition, these dress codes have developed a reputation of being sexist and discriminatory against minorities such as women and the LBGTQ+ community.
Over time, students and parents have noticed that schools in the United States regulate female students’ attire more harshly than the attire of male students. Many educational institutions establish double standards for their dress codes. Male students are not forced to cover up nearly as much as their female counterparts. While female students are disciplined for coming to school in yoga pants or leggings, administrators do not bat an eye at male students who wear gym shorts. Furthermore, schools are infamous for removing girls from class for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include the length of skirts and shorts, sleeve length, the exposure of shoulders, bare midriffs, and more. Many schools cite the belief that girls’ skin distracts the boys in the school. By removing girls from class for showing skin, school administrators are sending a message filled with prejudice and sexism: male comfort is more important than female education. In addition, schools across the nation are unwittingly promoting rape culture and victim blaming. Instead of teaching boys not to rape, they are normalizing sexual assault and indoctrinating young children with the idea that victims are responsible for keeping themselves safe. Shaming girls for something as trivial as skirt length implies that if they were raped or sexually assaulted, it would be their fault. Certain schools stated that female students should cover up for the benefit of the male teachers. Some said that exposure of knees or collarbones “distracts” the men. These schools failed to acknowledge the obvious: if grown men are distracted by teenage girls’ knees, they should not be employed in a position that requires them to interact with said students on a daily basis.
In addition, many dress codes establish a gender binary. Some state that female students are required to wear skirts, while male students must wear pants. This can be extremely damaging for students of gender minorities. Transgender students are forced to wear clothing that is widely associated with the sex they are assigned at birth. Gender non-conforming and non-binary students struggle to express themselves through the rigid gender binary system. Being forced to put themselves in a box can cause severe gender dysphoria, which negatively impacts mental health.
In conclusion, dress codes limit students’ freedom. They establish and conform to a gender binary, and they discriminate against women and gender minorities. These dress codes perpetuate rape culture and victim-blaming. By forcing students to cover up, schools are conveying a message that their education comes second to social constructs.
