Modifying Dress Codes for a Healthier Upbringing During the adolescent years, kids go through some of the toughest and most confusing stages of their life. These years are a time for self-discovery, for learning, and for growing up to become the future of our world. The pressure to grow into something that is accepted and praised by society can be one of the hardest challenges to overcome. The ideas that society enforce regarding beauty standards and gender norms can be some of the most damaging. Young boys grow up believing that crying is a weakness, that any form of emotion is weakness, and it teaches them to bottle up their feelings and creates an unhealthy upbringing. Young women grow up believing that a pretty face is everything. They …show more content…
Diane Ehrensaft, a woman who writes about gender and is a psychologist says“This generation is really challenging the gender norms we grew up with. A lot of youths say they won’t be bound by boys having to wear this or girls wearing that. For them, gender is a creative playing field.” Adults, she added, “become the gender police through dress codes.” (NY TIMES 2009) Take for example a young girl named Aniya Wolf, who was kicked out of prom for wearing a tux. When she showed up for the event with her girlfriend, she was pulled out of line and asked by her principal to leave. She told TODAY reporter, "I felt humiliated, getting kicked out of prom. I wasn't going to hurt anybody with a suit." She was also documented by TODAY saying "It is an attack on my sexual orientation, It's saying, 'We don't want you in our prom. You're a freak of nature.'" (TODAY 2016) For Aniya, this was a very damaging event in her life. She had to experience how it feels to be cast out and shamed for something that makes her different than some of her other classmates. To experience such limitations on expressing oneself, each of these kids in our generation are at risk of dealing with negative effects on their mental health. To deal with the limitations on expressing oneself from peers is one thing but to be limited by adults who these kids are taught to look up to can be extremely confusing and cause a significant level of shame that is not only detrimental to their self-esteem but completely unnecessary. Such strict and unreasonable dress code regulations effectively create several levels of negative impacts on the wellbeing of the youth of our generation while setting back progress in our society to achieve more open-mindedness in the years to
In this day, children can often feel as though they are at a loss of ways to express themselves. With the heavy burden of societal standards, clothes are one of the only “acceptable” ways students have left to express themselves with. The biggest and most relevant example of this today is Transgender and LGBT students, or those who identify with a different gender than the one they were legally born into. As said in The Movement Against Sexist and Discriminatory School Dress Codes, “Meanwhile, gender nonconforming and transgender students have also clashed with such policies on the grounds that they rigidly dictate how kids express their identities. Transgender students have been sent home for wearing clothing different than what's expected of their legal sex.” This said, they way one dresses can extremely affect
Throughout the article, “Why Sexist Dress Codes Suck For Everyone” written by Emily Lindin, argues why dress codes hurt everyone. Lindin is a very acclaimed and credible author who has written many pieces for Teen Vogue, along with a memoir about her experience with bullying, which later became a documentary. Lindin targets teen girls throughout most of her pieces, on the idea that girls should not be punished for the way they dress. This controversial article was published in Teen Vogue magazine in May 2016. Lindin’s article argues that school dress codes not only affect girls, but also gives guys a disadvantage as well. Lindin starts off her argument by giving her opinion on dress codes not only in the school systems, but in everyday life too. She goes on to say, “Most school dress codes, however, are deeply sexist both in the way
In the article “The Most Outrageous Ways School Are Trying To Enforce Gender Stereotypes” explains several cases where schools enforce boy and girls how to behave. The editor Tara Culp-Ressler explains that a senior girl went to prom dressed in jeans and got kicked out because she was not wearing a dress. Another case was a fourteen-year-old boy was forced to get rid of his makeup, which made his mother outraged and complained to the school. Tara also demonstrates that an eight-year-old girl was kicked out of a Christian school because she was not acting to feminine. She was dressing in sneakers and with short hair and the people in that school did not appreciate the girl being less feminine. Even more Tara writes of another incident where
America, the “land of the free, and home of the brave.” Unfortunately, this doesn 't mean “land of the free to wear whatever one desires.” In fact, school dress codes are taking away American students’ self expression, infringing on their freedom of speech, and enforcing sexist discrimination all over the country. A recent case, that occurred at Tottenville High School in Staten Island, New York, blatantly displays the negative effects dress codes are having on students, especially females. In the first couple of days of the semester, this high school managed to give 200 detentions to students for violating the dress code. Ironically enough, 90 percent of these students were girls (Swafford). The discouraging part is that schools are easily able to get away with this kind of discrimination. This is made possible by state laws that give school boards the power to enforce whatever dress codes they think are necessary to promote a distraction free learning environment, maintain discipline, and to push students to dress similarly in order to create a uniformity in the schools (“School Dress Codes”). The purpose of dress codes may be to create a distraction free learning environment; in reality, however, they produce an environment where students feel discriminated against and aren 't free to express themselves.
Laura Bates wrote a very controversial article on May 22, 2015. Her two page article, “How Dress Codes Shames Girls and Perpetuates Rape Culture,” set a tone that is hard to forget. Laura includes detailed examples that capture her readers attention and open one’s eyes to the harm that public school dress codes are doing, not only to the physical image of a girl, but to the self-esteem of many girls as well. There are many thoughts and emotions that follow this topic, because of the many girls that have been affected personally by dress codes, or rather, dress code violations. In this groundbreaking article, the question of whether or not a school dress code shames girls and perpetuates rape culture is answered.
Since Lucinda has a curvy body type, she was told that her skirts were “technically acceptable” yet they were still too short for her to wear. Ventimiglia was suggested to follow a dress code with longer hem requirements… The student was kicked out of her own prom by a chaperone who said that a group of dads were staring at her, even though she was following all of the dress code rules. She says, “I’m not responsible for some perverted 45-year old dad lusting after me because i have a sparkly dress on and a big ass for a teenager… and if you think i am, then maybe you’re part of the problem.” When i saw read this, i was disgusted by the fact that grown men would be gawking over a 16 year old at her junior prom because her dress complimented her butt. Not only is this disrespectful, it’s disgusting. As men, they should know better than to be treating a young lady as a sexual object; that student could’ve been one of their child’s friends, how gross is that? This is teaching girls to feel uncomfortable in their own skin; we should all be proud of our
I agree that all schools should have dress codes because of the fact that with strict dress codes can deter school shootings or bring the % down, take the columbine shooting for example, the kids that were responsible for the shooting were wearing long jackets with deep enough pockets to hide weapons.
One change i would recommend for the school dress code would be to let girls wear V neck shirts without a tank top. therefore Girls should be able to wear any type of shirt they want, without any problems. telling girls to cover up are saying to not be confident with their body. More people need to respect others body and not be so mean, Girls need to learn to feel confident with their body. With this being said Wearing V neck shirts that show a very little bit of skin or cleavage should not be a problem.
The controversy about dress codes asks an important question: are dress codes targeting girls and transgender students? Several sites including:https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/table-talk/what's-fair-and-unfair-about-student-dress-codes, stated that when they spoke to girls they said they feel shamed and judged by dress codes. Are dress codes limiting students creativity. Should these girls really feel harassed men and boys at their school?
Any girl that has ever attended public school knows about the struggle of a dress code. On those hot days as the school year approaches, girls pour over their closets trying to find an outfit they won’t get called out for or sweat to death in. All their dresses are too revealing, their shorts too short, and their shirts reveal way too much shoulder—or so the schools say. Girls have been attacked time and time again with dress codes. Policies are almost always directed strictly towards girls; some even specify for girls only. These dress codes are not only sexist towards women, but they limit female’s freedom of expression and their choice to feel comfortable, and they do not teach female’s to have self confidence.
How many times have you heard of a child being sent home due to their outfit? In so many towns and cities there is ridiculous dress codes. Most of the dress codes are directed towards females. These rules somewhat make them feel as if they have to hid their bodies so they won’t distract men. High school dress codes are detrimental to all student’s confidence outside and inside the classroom.
Dress codes in middle and high schools are a form of discrimination against teenage girls in today’s society. Parents and students all over the country argue that dress codes are directed mainly at girls and are a blatant example of gender inequality. The idea behind the strict enforcement of a dress code is that it will teach self-respect and raise moral standards for the students. However, when the reason for many dress code violations is questioned the rationale is often to prevent distracting the male students. Young women across the country are being shamed and punished for wearing what schools consider immodest and being a distraction to their male peers. This discrimination against female students results in their clothes being strictly regulated and dress coded more often than male students’ clothes are. The enforcement of these discriminatory dress codes has become a form of public humiliation for female students. Theoretically, a dress code makes sense and should be effective. In reality, it does not affect how students dress but causes a distraction and interruption of a girl’s education.
Preamble- We the students of Pine High School find it necessary to work together to find a solution and break away from dress code policies. With all respect, as students, we should be able to express our opinions as teachers are allowed to do so. We do not understand the reasons for uniforms, teenagers express themselves with unique styles; but at school we all have to wear the same thing every single day.
School dress codes shame students and teach other children that is okay to judge and harass young women
So my school has decided to change the dress code.They ask me what would I like to change and why.So I tell them they should let girls wear shorter outfits so girls could express themselves more and feel comfortable.Some may disagree with me some may not I don't care.Girls should be able to wear what they want and they shouldn't have to be stuck in jeans in the middle of summer during school it's unfair to us girls.We are in the 6th grade now we shouldn't have to be stuck with jeans or long outfits if we don't want to.What I am trying to say is what we wear tells people who we are and what we like to do it tells people a story like if you play sports or something someone can tell that about you by what you wear.