Dress Code

As learning has gone remote, there have been a multitude of changes, consequences, and new virtual worlds to explore. One of these changes, though it is perhaps a more trivial one, is school rules about dress code. I know many students, myself included, have begun wearing pajamas through Zoom classes, as schools have loosened up dress-code restrictions. However, this certainly wasn’t always the case. Dress codes in school have been a large issue of debate in every school I’ve been in, and in many schools throughout the country. For many, it prompts the questions: how much can an administration regulate what students wear? Are they limiting distractions for students? Or is it really just not-so-subtle sexism and racism?

In the U.S., over half of public schools have a dress code, according to “The Sexism of School Dress Codes,” in The Atlantic. One of these schools is Forest Hill High School, in Palm Beach, Florida. A young woman there was removed from class and given an in-school suspension for wearing slightly ripped jeans. Later, the mother of this student said that a school official told her daughter to “consider the guys in her class and their hormones when choosing her wardrobe” (Lakritz, 1). This attitude places all of the blame on the young woman and also makes it clear that the education of her male peers is valued over her choices, freedom, and education. Really, if men can’t control themselves, shouldn’t that be no fault but their own? This justification of a dress code because of the “distractions'' it causes for male students are common excuses. Our society has objectified women's bodies to an extent to which if a young woman shows some of her legs, it is considered a scandalous affair that could “distract” male students. It implies that women should be ashamed of their bodies, and that their bodies are something for others’ commentary and debate. And it also implies that young men can’t control themselves, even to the extent that seeing part of someone's knee might interfere with their learning environment. Of course, these dress codes, and the excuses for them, are outdated and extremely insulting.

To make matters worse, students who violate the dress code can be ridiculed, called out in front of class, and humiliated. A few years ago, a young girl was reprimanded for wearing a skirt that wasn’t below her knee, a rule commonly used in dress codes throughout the country. After her teacher noticed and made her go to the nurse, the student was given a neon shirt saying “Dress Code Violator,” and threatened to receive suspension if she didn’t wear it. And if she wouldn’t wear it, she was told to go home (Winslow, 1). Though this is certainly an extreme punishment, this kind of humiliation is a common result of dress code violations. Yet again, most often, female students are missing instructional time which sends the message that their education isn’t as valuable as their male peers’.

And the examples don’t stop there. At Honesdale High School in Pennsylvania, a young woman was reprimanded for wearing leggings, to which she responded with Facebook post that went viral: "Today, I was told that the discomfort of a middle-aged man who seemingly can't keep his eyes off of a 16-year-old's rear-end takes precedence over my education” (Lakritz, 1). At Woodford County High School in Versailles, Kentucky, a young woman was penalized for showing her collarbone at school, and required to cover it up for the rest of the school day. Later, the principal of this school said that the “distraction" in students "always comes back to what the girls are wearing" (Lakritz, 1). Other girls had to put duct tape on their skin to cover up the holes in their jeans, retake yearbook photos because some of their shoulders were showing, or even put tape on their nipples because boys noticed that they weren’t wearing a bra (Lakritz, 1). These stories, while they might seem so clearly unfair, are not uncommon. It is part of the sexism and objectification that many young women face in many aspects of their life.

These dress codes, however, don’t only affect young women, people of color are unfairly targeted for being dress code violators as well. Researchers Alyssa Pavlakis and Rachel Roegman dive into this issue at a high school, which they call Lincoln, that serves a midwestern urban community. After surveying the students, Pavlakis and Roegman found that students of color are much more likely to be brought up on dress code charges, even if they violate the dress code the same amount that white students do. While only a small fraction of the students surveyed said that they were punished for violating the dress code, out of this fraction, the overwhelming majority were people of color (Pavlakis et al., 1). Specifically, both teachers and students surveyed said that male students of color were more likely to be punished because of dress code violations. According to the article, the dress code “treated males of color as potential threats who needed to be watched over and disciplined” (Pavlakis et al., 1). This also exacerbates the stereotype that black men can be violent and criminalizes them just for wearing a durag, for example, while white students can get away with other head coverings like hoodies (Pavlakis et al., 1). Similarly, in another school in Mont Belvieu, Texas, a principal started to enforce a school dress code rule that men’s hair should not fall past their eyes. And one black male student, DeAndre, was reprimanded for his longer hair that he’d grown out throughout his time in high school and was told that he wouldn’t be able to attend graduation or prom because of it (Perry, 1). In response to criticism about this rule and punishment, the Superintendent tweeted that their black students beat the state average test scores, and added, “sounds like high expectations work!” (BarbersHillSUPT). The tweet implies that students' longer hair would seemingly lower the average test scores of black students in the district, because they would no longer be held to “high expectations'' about not growing out their hair. This just defies any logic. It’s an excuse for the superintendent and the principal to discriminate against students of color. Stories like this one are not rare. Dress codes are often a manifestation of the sterotypes and discrimination that students of color face in the day-to-day world--just in school.

So, are there really any times where dress codes help rather than harm? Actually, sometimes. Dress codes can be used to restrict students from wearing clothing with messages that are racist, sexist, homophobic, or just harmful to other students. This can be critical in ensuring that students feel accepted and welcomed in their school community.

So what is an effective and fair dress code? And how do you make and enforce this dress code? Firstly, schools should listen to students’ complaints and demands about the dress code. Because students are the ones that this is being required of, it is critical that administrators listen to and enact their demands. Additionally, students should have a place or someone to go to if they feel as if they have been unfairly reprimanded or if something that someone else is wearing is hurting them. Though these might seem like common sense rules, they are the foundation for having students' voices heard and understood throughout this debate.

There are examples of fair dress code. One created by the Oregon Chapter of NOW (National Organization of Women) has been praised for being inclusive, fair, progressive--and may be the dress code of the future. The dress code specifies that students have to wear clothing that covers certain parts of their body, and that it has to be suitable for certain classroom activities, but kids can wear their hair however they want and hats as long as they don’t cover their face. The dress code does prohibits people from wearing anything “depicting or advocating violence, criminal activity, use of alcohol or drugs, pornography, or hate speech.” Aside from those rules, the dress code is simple. It allows students to express themselves, to wear what they want, in consideration of others’ well being. According to Vox, the Oregon NOW president, Lisa Frack, said, “Boys can dress like girls, and girls can dress like boys…. You can be trans. You can be cis. Part and parcel on our mind is whoever you are, you can wear whatever you want” (Nittle, 1). This will hopefully be the dress code of the future, with schools enforcing it fairly, and allowing students to express themselves.

Writer: Brisa Kane

Editor: Nathalia Ramkissoon

Photographer: Leighton Gammage

Works cited

1. BarbersHillSUPT. “BH Has Received Scrutiny Regarding Our High Level of Expectations on All Things & Dress Code. Yet Our African American Students Beat the State Average on Passing STAR by 22% & Our Overall Passing Scores Are the Highest in the State. Sounds like High Expectations Work!” Twitter, Twitter, 22 Jan. 2020, twitter.com/BarbersHillSoup/status/1220160056160899072.

2. Lakritz, Talia. “18 Times Students and Parents Said School Dress Codes Went Too Far.” Insider, Insider, 14 Feb. 2019, www.insider.com/school-dress-code-rules-controversy-2018-8#a-seventh-grade-girl-was-allegedly-asked-to-cover-up-a-t-shirt-that-a-teacher-found-offensive-her-parents-say-the-shirt-sends-an-anti-discriminatory-message-1.

3. Nittle, Nadra. “Students Are Waging War on Sexist and Racist School Dress Codes - and They're Winning.” Vox, Vox, 13 Sept. 2018, www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/13/17847542/students-waging-war-sexist-racist-school-dress-codes.

4. Oregon NOW. “Model Student Dress Code.” Oregon NOW, Feb. 2016, noworegon.org/issues/model-student-dress-code/.

5. Pavlakis, Alyssa, and Rachel Roegman. “How Dress Codes Criminalize Males and Sexualize Females of Color .” Kappanonline.org, Phi Delta Kappan, 24 Sept. 2018, kappanonline.org/pavlakis-roegman-dress-codes-gender-race-discrimination/.

6. Perry, Andre. “Racist Dress Codes in Schools Are the New 'Whites Only' Signs.” The Hechinger Report, 5 Feb. 2020, hechingerreport.org/dress-codes-are-the-new-whites-only-signs/.

7. Winslow, Hailey. “Student Assigned to Wear Bright Clothes as School's Punishment.” News4Jax, News4Jax, 2014, samiaeng.commons.gc.cuny.edu/research/.