Lgbt Student Dress Codes

Have you ever been accused of violating the dress code? Ever wondered why your outfit wasn’t “school appropriate?” This issue of dress code has been discussed a great deal in the recent years over social media. Numerous people have been hurt or offended by what is seen as “inappropriate” or “misleading,” and the policing of what students are wearing is unfair and extremely sexist. Dress codes objectify students in general, but focus mostly on females and LGBT students.
Dress codes in high schools, including Wren, are said to be set in place to prepare students for dressing appropriately in the workplace. Even though this may be true, dress codes tend to put more restrictions on what female students can wear. “People often wonder why the dress
With the recent legalization of gay marriage, the LGBT community is growing and people are becoming more open about their sexuality. Students who identify as LGBT are also affected by dress code policies because they cannot express who they want to be. “Transgender students have been sent home for wearing clothing different than what’s expected of their legal gender, others have been excluded from yearbooks” (Zhou). These students deserve the same rights as every other student. If a student identifies as male or female, then they should be able to dress that way, no matter what is “socially acceptable” or not. Recently, a student at Strawberry Crest High School in Florida was called out by a school official during his school’s spirit week. Because the school spirit week falls around Halloween, students were allowed to wear costumes to school. One of the themes was Throwback Thursday where students could dress up in clothing from a previous decade. Peter Finucane-Terlop, who identifies as gay, decided to dress up as a drag 1950s housewife. His dress, button up shirt, and wig all follow the dress code, but he still got called out. “According to Finucane-Terlop, a school official commented on his outfit in the middle of the courtyard during lunch that day. Finucane-Terlop recalls him saying, “Why are you dressed like that?” and “You shouldn’t do that. You’re a boy—dress like it. What if little kids saw you?” (Zhou). This is an outrage. Students should be able to express themselves no matter what or who they “should” be. If a person wants to identify as male or female, they should be able to do so no matter what their legal gender is, and schools should not take away this