Kelly Geier

Scott Erdiakoff

English 134

16 November 2017

Dressed in Confidence

Imagine at the innocent age of eleven, your sixth-grade math teacher humiliates you

in front of your peers on the playground by saying your brand-new khaki shorts violate the

rule of having an inseam of at least three inches. You cower in fear as your math teacher

approaches you with a traditional wooden ruler. She puts it on your inner thigh as she

announces to everyone in earshot that you are compromising the learning environment for

male students by distracting them with your body. Embarrassed and in tears, you call your

mother on the office phone, taking time out of your science class that started forty minutes

ago, to inform her that you will be in need of a change of clothes. This eleven-year-old

mentioned above is me. A mere child unaware of the blatant sexual objectification that is set

forth by not only the dress code, but how discipline is conducted for violations. Girls are

shown at a young age that their bodies being covered up is more important than their own

learning. Considering that girls will be pulled out of class and told to change so they will not

be a distraction to their male peers. In a society as advanced as ours, steps must be taken in

order to change the rules that are currently promoting objectification, mainly to protect the

impressionable minds of our youth.

In a successful attempt to lessen the controversy of dress codes, Evanston Township

High School District, in Illinois, proposed and passed a new dress code policy that states

Students should not be shamed or required to display their body in front of others (students,
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parents, or staff) in school. Shaming includes, but is not limited to kneeling or bending

over to check attire fitmeasuring straps or skirt length calling out students in spaces, in

hallways, or in classrooms about perceived dress code violations in front of others (Emily

McCombs). The journalist Emily McCombs addresses the phenomenal changes made to this

Illinois high school districts dress code. Besides the rules included that are directed at

faculty, there is a single gender-neutral category that speaks about what clothes must be

worn, instead of having separate sections for both male and female attire requirements. The

code used by the Evanston Township school district is derived directly from the Oregon

NOW (National Organization of Women) model, which was created and set into motion in

2016. This reformed dress code fixes the demeaning and controversial issues that stem from

sexist dress codes, especially the rules that prohibit faculty from objectifying students with

rulers and other humiliating ways. This new dress code should be implemented at high

schools across the country to combat these injustices.

Gliding into my senior prom with my closest friends, I felt empowered and beautiful.

I was wearing a 2-piece royal blue embellished gown, that exposed around an inch of my

midriff. Despite the gown being floor length without a slit, I saw the disapproving finger of

my vice principal in the corner of my eye, motioning that he wanted to speak with me. My

vice principal, Mr. Haws, without the respect of wishing me a good evening, threatened that

if I acted in any questionable (most likely meaning provocative) ways at the dance, I would

be thrown out. To further the blow, he asked whether or not I respected myself as a woman.

To this day, I do not think I could have a more degrading encounter with a member of school

faculty, in fact, simply anyone with authority over me. These may seem like just words, but

these types of comments are detrimental to those with already wavering self-esteem and
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worse-- those who suffer from depression and self-hate habits. According to the American

Psychological Association (APA), sexualization and objectification undermine

confidence in and comfort with ones own body, leading to a host of negative emotional

consequences, such as shame, anxiety, and even self-disgust (APA). Not only this, but the

APA has evidence that strongly supports the claim that continuous exposure to a skewed

image of a sexualized body leads to lower self-esteem, negative mood and depressive

symptoms among adolescent girls and women (APA). In an article written in the New York

Times, author Peggy Orenstein explains that there is the pressure young women face to

view their bodies as the objects of others desires (Peggy Orenstein). because of the amount

of backlash women encounter when they wear something that is considered distracting.

Implementing a new dress code cannot completely eliminate these psychological difficulties

that women may encounter but they can certainly begin a start to a new standard.

Instead of creating a new more in-depth dress code, some schools have chosen to

enforce a uniform policy. Although students wear uniforms for a variety of reasons, Dr.

Larry Wilder, a professor at Fresno State University, states that some possible benefits

include decreasing violence and theft, preventing students from wearing gang-related

colors to school, instilling student discipline, helping to resist peer pressure, helping students

concentrate on academics and aiding in recognition of intruders (Larry Wilder). Wilder

writes about various positives and negatives found within a schools policy on proper student

attire, however, his points about the benefits of uniforms are prominent. A uniform policy

would eliminate quite a large amount of body-shaming consequences for being out of dress

code, since everyone has the exact same options for clothing. Unfortunately, only nineteen

percent of public schools in the United States report that they require uniforms, meaning that
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the other eighty-one percent of students are susceptible to unfair ridicule based off of their

attire. Not only is forcing all public-school students to wear uniforms impossible, it would

greatly decrease a childs ability for self-expression, which leads to a whole other set of

issues.

There are important issues within our school dress code policies that need to be

revised, in order to keep up with the advancements we are making in our society; because

frankly these ideas are absolutely outdated. It is time to stop supporting the stigma that turns

a blind eye to problems that can arise from these policies, such as sexual harassment. Telling

a young girl that her exposed body is a distraction to her peers is a form of victim-blaming,

which is an unfortunate occurrence that can be prevented in this instance. With reformed

attire code rules, the harmful psychological effects can be combated efficiently and

effectively. All students have the right to feel comfortable in their own skin, without the fear

of ridicule for reasons they may not even understand.

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Annotated Bibliography

Wilder, Larry. Pros and Cons of School Dress Code, Fresno Pacific University,
https://www.fresno.edu/news/11/11/2007/pros-and-cons-school-dress-code. Accessed 9
Nov. 2017

McCombs, Emily. Sexist School Dress Codes are a Problem, and Oregon Many Have The
Answer, Huffpost, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sexist-school-dress-codes-and-
the-oregon-now-model_us_59a6cd7ee4b00795c2a318e5. Accessed 9 Nov. 2017

Zurbriggen, Eileen. Sexualization of Girls, American Psychological Association,

http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report.aspx. Accessed 15 Nov. 2017

Orenstein, Peggy. The Battle Over Dress Codes, The New York Times,
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/14/opinion/the-battle-over-dress-codes.html.
Accessed 15 Nov. 2017