School Dress Code

The Issues with School Dress Code When a girl gets told that her outfit is unsuitable to wear to school, her self esteem is dismantled from her. (Kate) In recent years, multiple girls have been punished because of the way they dress while attending school. Dress codes have taken a toll on how girls think about themselves as a person and the way they dress because of the fact that they might have to change due their outfit being “inappropriate.” Public schools should enforce dress codes but they should not be so strict so they do not embarrass children, body shame students, or push sexism toward one gender or another. When getting punished for a dress code violation, it tends to embarrass students when they have to change into something
At the age of 12, Pooja Patel got dress coded because of her choice of a jean skirt, leggings, and a scoop neck t-shirt. “I was in science class working on a group project. I felt a tap on my shoulder from my homeroom teacher, who had seen me earlier that day. She asked if she could speak with me outside and I obliged. She then told me something that has stuck with me: “Pooja, I know you like fashion, but I have heard some boys in your class talking about the way you are dressed. I think it would be best if you go change.” I was ashamed. I felt ashamed that people were talking about my clothing. I felt ashamed of my outfit choice. And most of all, I felt ashamed of my body. At the time I felt as if I had done something wrong, but in retrospect I was the one who had been wronged. Fervent dress-coding is not only sexist; it also reinforces an already-prevalent body shaming culture, kick-starting the phenomenon at an early age. I understand that we cannot expect to be able to wear crop tops and ripped jeans in the fourth grade, but school dress codes create an environment where women learn early on to feel ashamed of their bodies.” (Patel) The fact that this 12 year old girl got punished for dress code because some childish boys were talking about the way she dressed is disgraceful. It made her feel awful about her self even though she wore nothing that showed too much skin or anything along
Greg Hardesty says that, “the girl raised her hand in English class. She had a question. What she got instead was a one-way trip to the main office – and an unexpected appointment with the administrator in charge of discipline. That’s because when the freshman at Trabuco Hills High School raised her hand, the motion exposed about 2 inches of her bare midriff. Boom! Dress code violation. Luckily for her, she got off with a warning. But throughout middle school and high school in Mission Viejo, this student repeatedly got busted for what she considered to be minor dress-code violations. Shorts too short. Shoulder straps on her top too thin. Skirt exposing too much skin above her knees. The violations cost her a couple of Saturdays for in-house school detention.” Now a-days with dress codes it seems that young ladies can not get a break from getting in trouble. With anything they wear they feel as if they could be punished. Finding the right attire to fit school dress code is a hassle and it is a lot of work to do. All of the clothes in stores usually consist of holes, short shorts, crop tops, tank tops, etc. and women have to attempt to find school appropriate clothes so they avoid getting into trouble. Unfortunately they still do, even if it is just their shirt coming up by accident when they are raising their