A World with no Dress Codes...

Dress Codes have existed for decades and now seem to be creating more problems than solutions. In 1969 dress codes were issued to limit self expression of students and avoid distractions in the learning environment. It is now 2020 and times have changed. Now dress codes seem expanded from their original purpose to focus on women’s bodies. Personally, I believe no one should be dressed coded for the clothing they wear and everyone should have the right to self expression including how they present themselves. This leads to the issue with the double standards that dress codes allow in schools.

Last year, I was dressed coded for my lower back “showing too much.” Later that year a male student wore a T-shirt that stated, “I’m not anti-feminist, I am anti-stupid”.  A clearly offensive shirt went unnoticed, but my back, a part of my body, of my existence, is too offensive? Dress codes aren’t only inconsistent, they also discriminate and shame body types. When my sister was in High School, she encountered issues with the dress code, being a bustier woman. One day she was wearing the same top as another girl, but got dress coded because her body type presented the clothing as more revealing. This is a form of body shaming that should not be allowed in school, and most definitely not reinforced by teachers. The other day, a teacher told me to pull down my shirt as my midriff was showing “too much”. The same day a boy had his shirt off in the hall temporarily, and was never spoken to about it. Why is my revealed skin a problem but not his? This shows how women's bodies are frequently sexualized, so when they reveal skin, it's abruptly noticed and seen as inappropriate but when a man shows skin it’s normalized. Society is to blame for these double standards. It sexualizes the female body to the point where it’s not a body anymore, but a taboo object.

In the macro aspect dress codes originally seemed necessary and smart, but now in 2020, their presence is nothing but controversy and a distraction itself. Dress codes with their bias against women and restrictions of self expression, should be dissolved and taken out of schools. With this change, we as a world, would all be taking a small step closer to freedom and equality for everyone. Isn’t that the American Dream?