Not a Distraction: The Harm Strict Dress Codes do to Girls

          Often we have heard high school dress code polices referred to as a way to teach girls self-respect. Apparently, only girls dressed a certain way – with shorts and skirts to the knee and no shoulders showing – are respecting themselves. Yet, these policies, or those who support them, fail to see the lack of respect being shown to these girls by, not themselves but, the others in their school community. Often dress codes do the exact opposite; they do not promote self-respect amongst teenage girls, but actually damage it. Dress code policies in schools have created an environment that shames girls for dressing confidently in clothes that are made for them or are popular amongst girls their age. Even in hot, summer weather some schools do not allow girls to wear tank tops or shorts that are “too short.” Even yoga pants have been deemed inappropriate attire in some schools. This clothing was labeled by the school as “too distracting,” although many girls in high school today would quickly label them as “comfy pants to spend seven hours of the day in.”

Even worse is how often girls are often called out of class in front of their peers or teachers and then forced to go change their clothes when they do not meet the dress code. The problem with their attire then becomes a more important issue than their education. At a Staten Island High School, 200 students receiveddetention for violating the dress code; ninety percent of these students were girls, as the bulk of the restrictions at this school apply to girls. Pulling girls out of class or giving them detentions for how they dress can lead these girls to feel ashamed of their bodies. Instead of promoting confidence, schools are teaching girls what objectification is; when they can’t dress in a way that they feel comfortable with because there may be eyes on them.

On top of this shame there is the constant reminder that girls are a distraction. The way girls choose to dress is constantly being blamed for boy’s inability to focus in class. This objectification teaches girls to cover up to avoid boys from looking at them, rather than just telling the boys not to look. When a boy then calls a girl a slut, or other degrading terms that can often be heard in the halls of public high schools, these dress codes teach girls that it is their fault they are being called these things, rather than the boys fault for treating her with a lack of respect.   

Many girls around the country are already taking steps to fight their schools dress codepolicies. Girls argue that if they are dressed comfortably in class they can better learn, and that’s what they are there for, not to have others focus on their bodies. However, maybe boys should be upset about this too; are they really so easily distracted by a girl’s bra strap or a bit of her knee showing? These policies hurt girls but also make these boys seem like sex-driven animals with no control over themselves.

It’s time to show girls that they are the only ones in charge of their bodies. To teach boys that girls are not there for them to look at, that they deserve to be respected no matter how they dress. And also to teach the adults in charge that girls are not a distraction and don’t deserve to be shamed for the clothes they wear. After all, we can dress in any way we feel comfortable with, be it no skin showing or all skin showing, and still have self-respect.