I, as an eighth grade student, am sharing this with you today because I am very passionate about this topic and I think we need a change. Everyone wants to leave their mark somewhere and I've decided mine is in doing this. Administrators always say that the students get a say and that we are a family but students and staff continually react to that in the wrong way after they have been “dress coded” or humiliated in front of peers/students. I think that as a school we need to review a few of our policies starting with the dress code issue. Dress codes have a very important effect on people socially. The strictness of dress codes vary but at most schools, they are enforced with great authority making students want to rebel. Professionals have an interesting opinion about dress codes, and some schools don’t know when enough is enough. They are commonly subjected to females and do not do what they are supposed too.

1. Most students ignore dress codes for one reason

Students have been known for rebelling against the dress code, “It is the way...they are enforced.” (Laura B) in which the students feel the need to rebel. If the students don’t respect the administrator that handles the dress code, the students will not respect the code itself. Another reason students rebel against the code is if the administrator is disrespectful about it, or does it in front of a group of people which embarrasses the student making them want to change it. Lastly, if a certain type of fashion is in, and the dress code is broken when the garment is worn, more kids will get dress coded because they want to be trendy.

2.  Dress codes abolish too many things

Most dress codes follow the same rubric and basics, “They forbid short shorts and skirts, spaghetti straps and tanks tops and form-fitting clothes like leggings and yoga pants,” says Christina M., no bras, off-shoulder tops, baggy clothing, jewelry, or hats. When a student comes to school wearing these items, they must be taken out of the course they are in too address their clothing choices. Students then miss out on tests and lessons that are valuable to their learning so that they don’t “distract” someone. It is then the students responsibility to pick up whatever work they missed.

3. Dress codes limit females clothing options

A majority of the dress codes are aimed towards females wardrobes. According to Kira, “Six out of the nine dress code regulations targeted female students,”. Society has taught girls to wear tight clothes that show vulnerable parts of the body and most boys wear loose fitting clothes with more coverage. Not only is it unfair that the dress codes are targeted at females, but it is unrealistic for girls to have so many clothing restrictions while boys don’t have nearly as many.

4. There is not a logical purpose for dress codes

Dress codes are supposed to help the school environment be more of a safe place but dress codes have been made to tell students that what they are wearing doesn’t look good on them and that they don’t follow the rules. The government says that, “[The purpose of a dress code is] To ensure that schools implement and enforce student [apparel] appropriately,”. Schools are taking advantage of that though by making shoulders, and certain clothes “inappropriate”. If dress codes weren’t as hateful towards some types of clothing, the actual

5. Dress codes are outdated with current fashion

If dress codes were up to date with current fashion trends, then dress codes would not be an issue because no one would be breaking them. According to Peggy Orenstein from The New York Times, she sarcastically says that “Gap offers “skinny jeans” for toddlers, Target hawks bikinis for infants. Good luck finding anything but those itty-bitty shorts for your 12-year-old…”. What Orenstein is saying is true, it is hard to find clothes that meet the outdated dress code standards. Young teachers who are into fashion break the dress code all of the time with wearing tank top dresses, or having skirts that aren’t knee length proving that the times have changed and our dress codes need to as well.

6. Professional in girlhood speaks out about dress codes and what they mean to her

Shauna Pomerantz is a professional in girlhood who has a very strong opinion about dress codes and what they say about females and males. “Girlhood expert Shauna Pomerantz of Brock University says that “dress coding” students for being distracting is a form of victim-blaming...It’s saying the male response is your fault. Your body is causing negativity,...Sexist rules also set a precedent for men, It is offensive to men...It suggests they don’t have the ability to talk to a female student without going wild.” (Brock University). When schools start to blame males short attention span for being distracted by females clothing, it isn’t really because of our clothing choices, it's actually caused by their lack of motivation in the setting that they’re in. On top of that, it is natural for males to feel that way at a certain time in their life and it should not be blamed on females fashion choices.