Dress Codes by Brylee A. Miner People in today’s world need to address their own biases and confront gender biases, racism and prejudice tendencies that judge people based on how they dress. As people start to reflect on their own biases, they will find that many school dress codes in handbooks across the country discriminate. School dress codes are sexist and restrict personal freedoms and religious or cultural expression. Proponents of school dress codes say they typically promote learning, safety, and an appropriate image of the organization. Many educators stress the importance of dress codes to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment. Policies that are created to prevent students from wearing racially explicit clothing are just one example of when administration needs to hold students accountable for breaking that policy to ensure a safe environment for all students (Zhou, 2015). “Supporters also argue that uniforms help identify intruders on school property” (Carey, 2009). This example shows that dress codes like uniforms allow school officials to identify when a person is on a school campus that is not supposed to be there. With so many school shootings, dress codes including those requiring school uniforms are being enforced even more. Dress codes can limit acts of violence, allow students to concentrate on school activities, and make it easier to get ready for school. Many say school dress codes are needed to ensure a safe learning environment and provide a good image of the school district, but who do school dress codes really affect? School dress codes are nearly always sexist towards females. Many dress codes are just another example of how females are objectified and over sexualized in today’s society. It is the message behind the school dress codes, not the actual policy itself, that is the reason why the codes are discriminatory. “Woodford County is one of many districts across the country to justify female-specific rules with that logic, and effectively, to place the onus on girls to prevent inappropriate reactions from their male classmates'' (Zhou, 2015). Looking at the survey I conducted, 57.1% of the 21 people who took the survey stated that they felt dress codes discriminated against females (Appendix A). “Female-specific policies account for a disproportionate number of the attire rules included in school handbooks'' (Zhou, 2015). By writing policies that over-sexualize females’ bodies and attire it also steers males’ thoughts and opinions on girls to seem more sexual. Schools should be teaching females to be comfortable with their bodies. Many females already have issues with self-confidence and school dress codes can affect this. Females should be able to wear what they feel comfortable wearing without thinking they will be judged on how short their shirt is or how low their top is cut. Survey participants stated that dress codes are mainly made for girls and about covering up so they aren’t distracting to males. One researcher showed how “high school girls feel dehumanized when they are treated as mere distractions'' (as cited in Aghasaleh, 2018). “Dress codes blame the wearer for the onlooker’s perceptions or actions. They blame the girl for what the perverted boy is thinking” (Underlined, 2021). It has been stated many times that girls need to cover up since boys cannot control themselves. Schools need to be teaching the boys that this behavior is not tolerated. Dress codes also require staff in schools to be the judge of what is appropriate and what is not. Two female students could be wearing the exact same shirt and one could be dress-coded because her chest size is larger than the other students. Some dress codes in schools also require shorts or shirts to be to the length of a student's fingertips when arms are placed to the side. This length now changes depending on the length of a student's arms. Dress
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