New technology, the way people talk and act, the way the world works, and even the way we dress has evolved drastically over the years. Styles fashion are constantly changing and sometimes it feels like they are changing overnight. Witnessing the change in styles is amazing, but nine times out of ten, students all over the world think about how their trending styles need to follow the dress code written by schools decades ago. And that is truly aggravating.
Although the dress code pertains to both genders, a lot of controversy has risen concerning bias in school dress codes. Most dress codes insist that girls keep their shoulders covered, collar bones covered, there is to be absolutely no cleavage, and girls must have shorts that go to mid-thigh length. The main reason this dress code is practiced is because girls' distract boys from their education in school'. According to Laura Bates, author of Everyday Sexism, the idea that girls are somehow responsible for 'provoking' harassment from boys is shamefully exacerbated by an epidemic of increasingly sexist school dress codes. So girls have to go shopping and think about what they're going to buy based off of making sure it doesn't 'distract' boys. Shopping for clothes that fit the dress code standards is also extremely difficult. This is in no way how girls should have to live.
Girls are sometimes even sent home because of the outfits they choose to wear, which is shameful in my opinion. Administration would rather girls leave the building because of spaghetti straps then get an education. To me, that is a huge red flag in the system of education. Dress codes don't seem to be much of a problem in the winter because schools in the north bundle up before coming to school, but at the very beginning and very end of the school year this is a totally different story. In my school alone, air conditioning doesn’t exist in over ninety percent of the classrooms. Students are constantly sweating and as far as I know, no girl wants to come to school wearing a turtleneck and jeans in ninety degree weather.
It is understandable that schools want their students looking respectable, but if girls feel comfortable wearing shorts two inches above mid thigh length and if they feel good wearing spaghetti straps, they should be able to. Being dress coded by teachers deteriorates students’ self esteem. Times have changed and it is time that dress codes change, too.
Although the dress code pertains to both genders, a lot of controversy has risen concerning bias in school dress codes. Most dress codes insist that girls keep their shoulders covered, collar bones covered, there is to be absolutely no cleavage, and girls must have shorts that go to mid-thigh length. The main reason this dress code is practiced is because girls' distract boys from their education in school'. According to Laura Bates, author of Everyday Sexism, the idea that girls are somehow responsible for 'provoking' harassment from boys is shamefully exacerbated by an epidemic of increasingly sexist school dress codes. So girls have to go shopping and think about what they're going to buy based off of making sure it doesn't 'distract' boys. Shopping for clothes that fit the dress code standards is also extremely difficult. This is in no way how girls should have to live.
Girls are sometimes even sent home because of the outfits they choose to wear, which is shameful in my opinion. Administration would rather girls leave the building because of spaghetti straps then get an education. To me, that is a huge red flag in the system of education. Dress codes don't seem to be much of a problem in the winter because schools in the north bundle up before coming to school, but at the very beginning and very end of the school year this is a totally different story. In my school alone, air conditioning doesn’t exist in over ninety percent of the classrooms. Students are constantly sweating and as far as I know, no girl wants to come to school wearing a turtleneck and jeans in ninety degree weather.
It is understandable that schools want their students looking respectable, but if girls feel comfortable wearing shorts two inches above mid thigh length and if they feel good wearing spaghetti straps, they should be able to. Being dress coded by teachers deteriorates students’ self esteem. Times have changed and it is time that dress codes change, too.