The Pros And Cons Of Dress Codes
In early October 2014, two boys at an Los Angeles school were seen wearing a shirt with an extremely sexulized photo of a near naked woman in class. This was a huge violation of the school’s dress code, yet a teacher stated that one of the boys walked around campus for the entire day wearing the shirt and was never asked to change (Chemaly). If the dress code isn’t enforced for boys the majority of the time, why are girls continuously being humiliated with their simple dress code violations, such as wearing a tank-top or athletic pants? Dress codes violate all the following rules; they hypersexualize young girls’ bodies by teaching them to cover up so they’re not a “distraction” to boys, dress codes tell young women that they should be “ashamed”
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of their figures at an early age,and they give boys a green light to identify and objectify female bodies.
All through history, there have been different controls on what men and women can wear in educational and business settings (Chen).
Women especially have been confined to modest and unrevealing garments. Though in modern times, clothing has become more liberal, and many people have decided to show more skin and definition of their body. With the changing times comes changing style, and with these new styles comes new dress codes for each environment in society. One of the most controversial settings that dress codes are in place is in schools. There are lots of good reasons for dress codes to be in place, such as supplying students with a concept of what is acceptable to wear when they’re in a white-collar situation, such as an interview or business meeting. The disagreement with dress codes comes in when people look at how dress codes affect the girls abiding by them. Right now, much of teenage girls’ clothing has the common theme of form-fitting. It would be very hard to go to a clothing store that doesn’t sell anything that would accentuate a girl’s body. Many school dress codes ban this form-fitting apparel, leaving girls with hardly any …show more content…
options.
Finding clothes that suit the dress code and are somewhat stylish is a difficult obstacle to overcome for teen and preteen girls.
They are just beginning to discover who they are, only to have their schools shut down expressing their individuality through clothing. This sometimes causes girls to feel as though their bodies aren’t even theirs, but something that is shameful and must be hidden (Chen). Girls then begin to wonder just why their bodies are such a taboo. When a school says that girls who show skin or curves aren’t worthy of respect, it could plummet their self-esteem. A good example of this occurring is at a North Dakota school where administration played a clip from the movie “Pretty Woman” that depicted a prostitute being judged by the salesperson for coming into the store wearing revealing clothing. The school was trying to prove to girls that they will be looked down upon if they dress in a “risque” way at school. When asked how this situation at the North Dakota school could affect the girls involved, Dr. Stacy Kaiser quoted, “This message is telling boys that if a girl is dressed in a provocative way, they have a green light to behave any way that want, and that can be very dangerous.”
(Marsh)
Many people argue that when it comes to dress codes in schools, too much is being done to keep girls in maximally modest clothes, and not enough is being done to teach boys not to objectify their female classmates. When a girl picks out her clothes for school, her first thought shouldn’t be, but almost always is, “Will these clothes arouse one of my male peers?” Feeling uncomfortable in clothes they enjoy wearing just because they worry a boy may become aroused makes many girls outraged. To make matters worse, in most cases, boys wouldn’t have to worry about their clothing distracting any female students. Many feel that it’s sexist not to take into account what clothing they find distracting on males, while their entire wardrobe is scrutinised. A teen in Palo Alto, California spoke out about her school’s dress code, saying, “[The dress code] supposes that boys are unable to control themselves when they see girls who aren’t as clothed because they are so attracted to the girls, but there is no equivalent dress code rules that prevent guys from wearing sleeveless t-shirts that show their muscles or other parts of their body that could distract girls” (Chen).
From the altercations that make the news, such as the LA boys’ violation that went without consequence, to the small violations schools face every day, dress codes are wearing America’s girls thin. When faced with the struggle of being treated like they’re unworthy of respect based on the clothes that are in trend, girls everywhere are getting fed up. Dress codes are good, and can create an environment more subject to learning; however, they are limiting to of girls’ style. Boys should not be distracted by what girls wear. Rather, the boys should be taught to not be constantly staring and sexualizing girls. Dress codes, in fact, will deplete a girls’ self esteem by telling her that she is just a sexual figure by wearing these types of clothes.
of their figures at an early age,and they give boys a green light to identify and objectify female bodies.
All through history, there have been different controls on what men and women can wear in educational and business settings (Chen).
Women especially have been confined to modest and unrevealing garments. Though in modern times, clothing has become more liberal, and many people have decided to show more skin and definition of their body. With the changing times comes changing style, and with these new styles comes new dress codes for each environment in society. One of the most controversial settings that dress codes are in place is in schools. There are lots of good reasons for dress codes to be in place, such as supplying students with a concept of what is acceptable to wear when they’re in a white-collar situation, such as an interview or business meeting. The disagreement with dress codes comes in when people look at how dress codes affect the girls abiding by them. Right now, much of teenage girls’ clothing has the common theme of form-fitting. It would be very hard to go to a clothing store that doesn’t sell anything that would accentuate a girl’s body. Many school dress codes ban this form-fitting apparel, leaving girls with hardly any …show more content…
options.
Finding clothes that suit the dress code and are somewhat stylish is a difficult obstacle to overcome for teen and preteen girls.
They are just beginning to discover who they are, only to have their schools shut down expressing their individuality through clothing. This sometimes causes girls to feel as though their bodies aren’t even theirs, but something that is shameful and must be hidden (Chen). Girls then begin to wonder just why their bodies are such a taboo. When a school says that girls who show skin or curves aren’t worthy of respect, it could plummet their self-esteem. A good example of this occurring is at a North Dakota school where administration played a clip from the movie “Pretty Woman” that depicted a prostitute being judged by the salesperson for coming into the store wearing revealing clothing. The school was trying to prove to girls that they will be looked down upon if they dress in a “risque” way at school. When asked how this situation at the North Dakota school could affect the girls involved, Dr. Stacy Kaiser quoted, “This message is telling boys that if a girl is dressed in a provocative way, they have a green light to behave any way that want, and that can be very dangerous.”
(Marsh)
Many people argue that when it comes to dress codes in schools, too much is being done to keep girls in maximally modest clothes, and not enough is being done to teach boys not to objectify their female classmates. When a girl picks out her clothes for school, her first thought shouldn’t be, but almost always is, “Will these clothes arouse one of my male peers?” Feeling uncomfortable in clothes they enjoy wearing just because they worry a boy may become aroused makes many girls outraged. To make matters worse, in most cases, boys wouldn’t have to worry about their clothing distracting any female students. Many feel that it’s sexist not to take into account what clothing they find distracting on males, while their entire wardrobe is scrutinised. A teen in Palo Alto, California spoke out about her school’s dress code, saying, “[The dress code] supposes that boys are unable to control themselves when they see girls who aren’t as clothed because they are so attracted to the girls, but there is no equivalent dress code rules that prevent guys from wearing sleeveless t-shirts that show their muscles or other parts of their body that could distract girls” (Chen).
From the altercations that make the news, such as the LA boys’ violation that went without consequence, to the small violations schools face every day, dress codes are wearing America’s girls thin. When faced with the struggle of being treated like they’re unworthy of respect based on the clothes that are in trend, girls everywhere are getting fed up. Dress codes are good, and can create an environment more subject to learning; however, they are limiting to of girls’ style. Boys should not be distracted by what girls wear. Rather, the boys should be taught to not be constantly staring and sexualizing girls. Dress codes, in fact, will deplete a girls’ self esteem by telling her that she is just a sexual figure by wearing these types of clothes.