Unjust Dress Code

How do you think it would feel to have someone constantly telling what you can and cannot wear? That is how thousands of high schoolers feel everyday.

School dress code is unjust because it limits individuality, promotes sexism, and encourages conformity interfering with the child’s learning experience. The teenage years are some of the most important years of your life. This is when we start to discover who we are and what we want to be. Dress code disables students from dressing how they want to just to simply meet the schools guidelines of what’s “okay” and what isn’t.No one wants to be told that they can’t wear their favorite pair of jeans because they have one small hole in them.

Like wise if a student wants to have blue hair why not let them? Lots of students feel that clothing and hair is their way to portray their personalities to the world. Students should not be removed from the learning environment simply because they have a small hole in their jeans or because they have a small strip of blue in their hair. Clothing is how a student chooses to express themselves, dress code doesn’t allow this. Another major issue with Dress code is its relation to sexism. When you compare the list of possible dress code violations for boys and possible dress code violations for girls, you will see that the list for girls is nearly twice as long. Boys practically just have to show up in some form of clothing while girls have to dress as though they are nuns.

“a school in North Dakota recently banned skinny jeans, leggings and yoga pants”. (jennifer weiss) Not only are they not are they only targeting bare skin, but the female silhouette itself. A girl’s body is more important than a classroom distraction. Girls across the country began participating in the #iammorethanadistraction campaign specifically designed to promote the idea of gender equality in dress code. Dress code teaches girls that their bodies are merely a distraction to boys and for that reason they are forced to hide their bodies. Not all dress code rules should be dismissed, students need a little bit of structure, but forcing all these crazy rules on them is bogus.

Lastly Dress code promotes conformity within the school. When each kid is held to the same rules they begin to dress alike. No one can be who they really want to be. They are forced to hide their bodies to meet the expectations of the school. Schools should not be allowed to dictate how you dress.

If the child’s parents are okay with the way their child dresses then so should administration. Everyone has a sense of modesty, and respect for themselves. This should be considered when making the decision about dress code rules. we live in a time where it is acceptable to wear shorts above fingertip length and shirts that aren’t two inches thick in the shoulders. take a trip to the mall and this will soon become apparent.

The way students dress should not impact their learning experiences. When they are constantly pulled away from class to change into a pair of sweatpants and a large tee shirt because of a small tear in their jeans, their education is interrupted. School dress code is unjust and unfair to students and needs to be changed.