Does sexism excuse in school? Sexism is a very real issue in our society, and should not be promoted by schools. Showing favoritism to one gender with dress codes does not serve the purpose that dress codes are intended for. Girls are not sex objects, and people should not be so concerned with their physical appearance. After all, school is an educational establishment. School dress codes are sexist towards girls because they are more strict for females than males, males are not considered to dress “provocatively”, and when males cannot control themselves, females are punished for it. Dress Codes are far more strict for females, males do not get punished as harshly. Females are sent home if “...the clothing worn by the person is obscene or …show more content…
“Yet, if I was skin and bones or over weight, (not to offend anyone) I would be over looked and no comment would be made, (AT MY PARTICULAR SCHOOL.) Because “they must do that to feel better about themselves and they crave attention” But because I look like a CURVY woman and may distract young boys, I have to miss class and change my outfit.”The clothing of girls should not be restricted because when girls are kicked out of class, they have no opportunity to learn. At the same time, when boys are “distracted” by the clothing of a female, they still have the opportunity to learn, they just need to focus.“On hot days, men walk around Atlanta shirtless and women wear halter tops. There is no resulting panic in the street. You may not like it, but freedom to dress as we choose is firmly embedded in American culture now.”School should be the last place to single out one gender, especially because school age children are far more vulnerable to criticism than adults. Girls in school should be allowed to dress how they want in school because they will dress how they want out of school anyway, and males will not complain. While school dress codes are nothing new, experts in adolescent behavior warn that the current practice of enforcing them with humiliating, public punishments may be sending the wrong message to students by encouraging the objectification of young women in a hypersexualized society.
This is an excellent point to make. Young girls should be taught that they are worth more than what they wear. Additionally, boys are encouraged to disrespect women and only judge them based on their appearance.Females have lives of their own and males should not attempt to control them, especially with personal choices such as
Dress codes can be deceiving as Laura Bates claims her view on school dress codes, “ While the principle of asking students to attend school smartly dressed sounds reasonable, the problem comes when wider sexist attitudes towards women and their bodies are projected on to young women by schools in their attempt to define what constitutes smartness”(Bates, 2015) Within this she is supporting school dress codes, but only to an extent. As soon as the dress code is later seen as sexualizing woman, and what they define as ‘intellectual looking’ she adds certain standards to her claim of supporting dress codes. Now laura bates seems to receive the short end, but other parents seem enlightened when it comes to school uniforms and dress codes. “With uniforms parents and students feel that students are seen for who they are and not by what they do or don’t wear”(McEntire, n.d.). Those who find dress codes beneficial, see the satisfactory within a school uniform, by how the true characteristics of students are seen through actions rather than appearance. Some teachers, and school faculty also see the positive side to school
Varying Issues Corresponding to the School Dress Code Shelby A. Scholle Newbury Park High School Abstract Dress code enforces the modest dress of students, preventing bullying and distractions. Numerous people believe clothing is a distraction and when eliminated the school environment is more professional and gives a better education to a student. Authority figures consider the school apparel enforcements are constitutionally sound, not affecting the child’s right to freely express, and providing a professional and working setting causing a better learning environment and decreased amount of bullying due to clear differences in appearance. However, opposers disagree with the restrictive code because of its limitations on individuality causing students to conform, sexist ideas in the form of punishment and how forms of clothing causes a distraction, and influencing rape culture. Costs for an advanced educational environment, positive, and negative effects will be explored within this paper to determine whether or not the dress code is necessary for an advanced learning environment or limiting the student's ability to express themselves.
First off, they are unequipped to solve problems such as violence in schools. Enforcing a school dress code may slow the occurrence of certain difficulties, such as violence and distraction, and can be vital to the well-being of students for a short time, but it does not tackle the origins of the attitudes that cause these problems. The head of psychological services for the Detroit school system, Mary Louise Starks says, "A dress code is a temporary measure that is limited in scope. Students are committing these crimes because they don 't have a sense of power or self-esteem. They steal from their peers to gain control over another person."(qtd. In Miller 87). The impulse to commit violent crimes is an issue within a student that schools cannot diffuse with rules and regulations. This is also applicable to the pretext that regulations are needed because of distractions caused by a student 's choice in clothing. This reasoning falls most heavily upon female students. For instance, if a female student came to school in shorts that were deemed "too short", she would be sanctioned, because according to some school administrators rational, girl 's bodies are too much of distraction in the classroom. Again, this does not answer the question as to why girl 's bodies are so sexualized, or why the idea that boys cannot control themselves exists, it only provides a quick and
Web. 18 Feb. 2016. In this article, Bates argues that today’s school dress codes are sexist and leave a lasting impression on young girls. Bates explains that there are several cases where girls are being punished for their adolescent bodies being distractions to boys. Also, it can teach a young girl that her body is dangerous and that a young boy automatically has the right to sexually diminish and harass adolescent girls in schools.
However, in college, there is no dress code, students are allowed to express themselves. So why are students being restricted for being them? Junior, Arielle Heisler, said “I feel that some people aren't able to express themselves and it's always only directed towards girls and not the guys.” There should not be students in a school who feel that they can not be true to who they are. There was a survey of forty three people: twenty girls, twenty guys, and three parents. They were all asked the same question: “Do you think dress code should be less strict?” Out of those forty people, thirty eight said yes, and five said no. It is time to take a stand against the dress code and make it accordingly to both genders, so less people get bad reputations, and to make life easier for all parents and
First of all, if students want to attend class in the clothes that make them feel comfortable, then they should be able to do so. In the 2015 article on The Atlantic on The Sexism of School Dress Codes, stating that "Many of these protests have criticized the dress codes as sexist in that they unfairly target girls by body-shaming and blaming them for promoting sexual harassment. Documented cases show female students being chastised by school officials, sent home, or barred from attending events like prom. "
Students have the right to express their individual identity and one of the ways they do this is through dressing. Children who do not accept their birth gender need a school environment that supports them. With many schools requiring males to wear pants and a shirt and females to wear a dress or skirt and blouse, these can negatively impact on a child’s gender identity creating problems in their school years. If students are forced to wear a gender specific uniform it restricts them from the activities and opportunities that they can do, especially for females. According to Tait (2013, p. 46) girls’ uniforms are generally more aesthetic and much less amenable to any physical activity and the fact that many are required to wear a skirt, which is the natural enemy of all things athletic. Therefore, wearing a dress or a skirt restricts certain activities for females. This includes playing sports at lunch, hanging upside down on the monkey bars as well as not having much expression of freedom compared to males in pants, and always needing to sit in a ladylike way. According to Carson (as cited in Gilmore, 2015, para. 9) the female uniform tangles or hampers leg movement and can be revealing, leading to sexual harassment and modesty policing. Thus, dresses or skirts hamper physical play and create difficulty for children to do physically active games, for example, cart wheels and
Both Male and Females have complained that the dress code is “sexist and “biased” toward young women. One teenager said that the school should be an all-boys school. Since the code only applies to women. Another student said that “it was humiliating to be pulled aside like an object” to be told that her outfit is inappropriate.
It isn’t relevant to school administrators because of the dearth of data. For instance, Luscombe stated “And if schools really are worried about boys being distracted by the female form, the right school uniform is a stiff antidote,” this is her opinion and not a fact. Moreover, it is offensive to girls; teenage girls should not be punished because boys can not respect them or keep their thoughts and hands to themselves. Instead of forcing girls to wear clothes they aren’t comfortable in, force boys to become gentlemen and teach them how to respect women. In addition, according to Marian Wilde, David Brunsma, a University of Missouri assistant professor, through research and studies, concluded there is no positive correlation between school uniforms, school security, or academic achievement.
Hidden behind the dress code is the sexist reason for it. Apparently boys cannot seem to 'control' themselves so girls are forced to hide from men's 'gazes'. Is it my fault that the guy behind me will fail an exam because my bra strap is showing or that I'm wearing a razor-back style shirt? Or if a little bit of a bandeau (a strapless bra cover designed to prevent a bra being shown) is showing, no one will freak out. Girls are being taught that it is our fault that a boy is distract...
It is proclaimed that dress codes objectify females in an unfair manner. Ways in which they do this is by making one feel bad about their body and blaming them for publicizing sexual harassment. Dress code violation often results in girls being removed from class and missing the lesson. Females get sent home, given a hideous pair of clothes to change into, or restricted from meaningful school functions like the prom. A student named Marcia Stevens personally experienced this type of discrimination. Before the incident, she was involved in her reputation was different; teachers classified her as “a fine student without behavioral problems.” (Pomerantz 1 ) It wasn 't the clothes she had on but rather the amount of cleavage she was showing. Stevens cleavage was only visible because her chest is a bit larger than the other girls. “She was punished for having the wrong kind of ("fat," "messy") body in an article of clothing that was not considered inappropriate on other kinds of ("thin," "neat") bodies. Marcia 's body was "inappropriate" because it spilled out; it was not "ladylike" or "school like," it was not tidy, and it was not easily contained. In short, her body was visible as a body. And the visibility of a young woman 's body, according to this dress code interpretation, was tantamount to a crime. Her body made "maintaining a suitable school atmosphere"
Society today is described as hypocritical and stereotypical. Thousands of students today have reported that dress code is sexiest. Most of the students who get dress coded in schools are mostly girls, who for wearing the most insignificant type of clothing shoulders or collarbone get dress coded. With this discriminatory dress code system, significant results have shown upon students like a low self-esteem and self confidence. Constantly we see in today's society girls continuously being body shamed and punished for the clothing they decide to use to express themselves.
We see stories Social media has more stories of girls being sent home because of dress code violations. Maybe the problem isn’t the students, but dress codes in general. Dress codes ultimately disrupt the pursuit of knowledge for the students, encourage gender bias, and can be dangerous. If we want the younger generations to succeed in the education system, we should utilize school uniforms. Uniforms in schools from elementary to high schools, will promote gender equality and facilitate student safety.
First of all, teenage girls are being ridiculed for their body shape at a young age, causing insecurities. Schools are for helping developing brains reaches its full potential and strengthen academic performance. Girls are limited on what attire they are allowed to wear in school based on their body shape, as well as how “distracting” the female boy is to boys. Females have multiple pages of dress code restrictions to reduce distracting clothing, while males have one restriction that applies to both genders,
While dress codes are a necessity in schools to regulate what is and is not appropriate for the learning environment, the fact that they place blame on females for how they are treated because of their clothing is completely sexist and unfair. Hardly ever is a boy busted for wearing athletic shorts or bro-tanks when he should not be, but as soon as a girl wears leggings or shows her shoulders, she is persecuted and given punishment. This is about as unfair as school systems can be, and it also sends the message to girls that what they perceive as being cute and fashionable is perceived by others as “offensive” and that it is their fault for anything bad that happens to them. These ideas should be changed so girls do not have to feel guilty and boys can stop thinking that their behavior in these situations is acceptable.