by Izzy Labbe
If you are or ever have been a teenager in America, you know this time of the year: it’s early June, and the countdown until the last day of school is becoming more and more intense. It’s so hot outside that you have absolutely no desire to get out of bed early and be productive. To put it simply: YOU WANT IT TO BE SUMMER.
A few weeks ago, the kids at my school (and many schools like mine) started experiencing changes in the weather, and, along with that, in school policy. The teachers and Vice Principal at my school started laying the smack-down when it came to the dress code. It’s common sense that when it’s 80 degrees outside and you’re spending all day in a school without air conditioning, you’re going to put on shorts and a tank top, right? But lots of teachers have made it their mission to enforce a ban on so-called “provocative” clothing in schools.
Now, what exactly is “provocative,” you ask? Well, in my school, a teacher can give you demerits for wearing shorts that are above the fingertips when your arms are at your sides, or when you wear a spaghetti-strap shirt, or when a bra strap is visible. You can get in trouble for showing cleavage or “too much skin.”
If that last part sounds vague, it’s because it is. All dress code enforcement is at a teacher’s discretion, which means it’s not enforced equally. The administration basically only targets girls, and not boys who have their pants too low and show their underwear or who wear loose tanktops with huge armholes that show their sides. My general viewpoint on what is “appropriate” when it comes to clothing is this: I understand that the school has to have certain rules about what is appropriate attire for school so that kids don’t come to class naked. But when it’s 95 degrees outside, girls shouldn’t be getting in trouble for wearing shorts.
I’ve also noticed that the teachers who take it upon themselves to crack down on girls wearing inappropriate clothing only target girls with curvier figures. There are girls at my school who are very, very skinny, and wear short-shorts all the time, but the teachers overlook this and go straight to the girl who fills out the shorts. When you look at it this way, girls aren’t getting in trouble for the length of their shorts. They’re getting in trouble for the way the shape of their bodies.
I’m pretty fed up with all of this, but I didn’t know if it was just me, so I talked to some of my classmates about it. I got into some pretty interesting conversations with the boys and girls that go to my school. One 14 year old female classmate said that she thinks the dress code is “kind of pointless, because why can you not show your shoulders? And like, as long as your butt’s not hanging out of your shorts, I think you should be able to wear them.” Fair enough.
Another female classmate said that even with the dress code, “people still wear short-shorts, and I don’t think there’s a problem with it.” When I asked her if she thought our school’s dress code and it’s uneven enforcement might be bordering slut-shaming behavior, and she nodded. “Yes. I do.”
Another classmate said she thought the code was “fair to a certain extent… but it doesn’t have to be so severe.”
I asked her if she knew what slut shaming is, and she gave me a pretty good explanation. When I asked her if she thought that our school dress code exhibited slut-shaming behavior she affirmed, and said, “It sort of says, instead of like saying that guys should respect girls, that girls should just take it… that we’re not allowed to wear certain shorts, we’re not allowed to wear certain kinds of tank tops that might show cleavage or anything like that, which I understand, but at the same time I think that they should also have rules for the boys, and also tell the boys to respect the girls. They don’t really have any rules for guys as far as clothing goes. They could pretty much wear anything as long as they’re wearing clothes, and it would be fine. Girls aren’t allowed to wear tank tops cut at the sides, and guys can.”
She certainly blazed through a lot of what was going inside my mind.
I also talked to some people who weren’t exactly thinking along the lines of what my friend over there and I were thinking. One girl responded that she was OK with larger girls being called out for their clothes, because “the tiny girls can wear short-shorts, and the bigger girls try it and it doesn’t work. Part of me says like, good for you, you think you can wear whatever you want and you feel pretty, and it’s just like, good for you! But on the other hand, it’s like, is that fair to all the people… like, no offense, but some people just don’t want to see that. And I feel bad for those girls, because they can’t help it, it’s not their fault. But the skinny girls can wear it. The dress code… they tried to make it fair, and girls took it too far, and it’s not working out.”
I’m not into this answer–to me, it sounds like we’re blaming girls for other people’s negative reactions to their bodies. That’s misogyny! And it’s a problem when it enters classrooms and girls’ bodies are treated–by the staff, by boys, and by each other–as dirty, ugly objects that must be covered.
If it’s hot outside, I’m going to wear shorts, or a skirt. Bodies are not offensive. It’s not unnatural for a girl to wear shorts on a hot day. What’s really unnatural is a girl being shamed into wearing pants against her wishes in summer, no matter what her body size is.
Also, can we throw that the phrase “provocative clothing” out the window, please? Saying that clothing is provocative insinuates that it provokes sexual assault or rape or harassment, which is totally false. Harassers harass and abusers abuse regardless of clothing choices.
So remember: As you venture into summer, don’t let anyone else mandate and dictate your body and what you wear. You shouldn’t be bound by someone else’s code. Your body is more than that. You are more than that.
So, come on already. You can’t have an article like this without also having a petition. Please, give us a petition already. If you called for one with objective standards, not whatever the heck teacher of the hour wants, I think you would get broad support.
I agree that dress codes should be enforced across the board. It is NOT cool for curvy girls to get called out on showing too much skin if the skinnier girls get a free pass. However, I take issue with the label of “slut shaming”. Slut shaming absolutely exists in society, and it is reprehensible, but I think applying this label in a school where the dress code *is* enforced across the board minimizes the reality of slut shaming in other arenas.
Consider the setting. School is a place of education. Teachers and students ought to conduct themselves with respect in such a setting. A dress code comes down to the issue of respect: respect for the environment as a place of learning, respect for one’s peers, and respect for oneself. Summer clothes are absolutely fine, but the time and place for short shorts, bra straps, and midriff is *not* in an institution of learning. Our society has blurred the line between casual and respectful to the degree that this concept has become honestly perplexing.
School is only in for a few weeks in June. It is not terribly difficult to find summer clothing that meets the dress code, to respect oneself and one’s surroundings enough to dress according to what’s appropriate in those surroundings, and wear whatever you choose when in a freer setting. Happy Summer!
I’d certainly like a petition to pass around Tumblr (and Twitter and Facebook, though I’m less involved in their communities.) Thank you for this article and the obvious effort you put into it.
I put up a poster like the one in your banner at my school, and I got in trouble because I hadn’t checked with the office before putting them up, which is weird, since I’ve put up other posters without any comment from the administration at other times. A few security guards hunted me down (for lack of a better phrase) and sent me around the school taking down the 30 posters, most of which they and another teacher had taken down anyway. Several teachers who passed me said that they were “surprised” that I would do “something like this,” as though expressing an opinion that does not conform to conventional understanding was reprehensible. I was ushered into the vice principal’s office. There’s been no change in policy, but I did waste my lunch period being (mostly) lectured to and (sometimes) listened to.
This is an important message for teenage girls–both that of the poster and that of dress codes in general. Dress codes imply–no, they do more than imply, they come right out and *say*–that girls’ bodies are not their own, and that it is girls’ responsibility to cater to boys. “But boys will be distracted” administrators and teachers and parents explain. To them I ask why boys’ comfort and right to education are more important than that of girls.
Hey girl!
It’s Izzy (a.k.a. the person who wrote this blog). I think what you did was super awesome, even if the administration pulled the posters. A few friends and I put up these posters (we stole the idea from Tumblr), and they were up for about two days before the administration saw them and flipped. Like your school, we have to get posters approved and signed by a teacher and then the Vice Principal before we can put them up, but I did it anyway (#YOLO). I’m guessing the reason why teachers respond so passionately about ripping these down is because they’re criticizing their performance as educators.
The important thing is that you went out on a limb and took a risk to express your beliefs. Good job! I’ve learned that you need to take risks and be ready for the consequences (i.e. people disagreeing with you in varying levels) if you wanna SPARK a change. Heh.
🙂 Thanks for your awesome comment, and have a great summer!
Wow, if there was a petition, I’d totally sign it! This has been floating in my mind for a while now, and at least somebody gets it! I’ve talked to my friend about this topic, and she agrees with me as well. One day when we were in school, she was walking down the hall, wearing a typical tank top (spaghetti strap) and shorts (not terribly short, but thigh-high) and some guy called her, ‘easy.’ I blew up. I mean, that is discriminating and harrassment! I wanted to call him out on it, and tell him, “What was so easy? Huh? What made you say that??” I wanted an answer. I’ve never witnessed anything like that until that moment. This problem exists EVERYWHERE. Girl shouldn’t just ‘take it.’ We should band together and demand equality. My school is wanted to ban hats, short shorts (above finger tip length), and shirts that expose shoulders. First thing I thought, “What the heck is appealing about shoulders? How would that distract anybody?” And that still floats in my mind today – right now. I am really hoping this gets a petition…
Ugh, teenage boys. Thanks for your comment, girl! As far as a petition goes, we haven’t been planning on one. But if you’re really passionate about this issue (which it seems you are), I definitely suggest partnering up with your local youth leadership program (if you have one), or getting the help of a teacher or guide of some sort, and writing one yourself! Petitions are tricky, and hard to do by yourself (SPARK’s successful petitions would definitely never have happened without the HUGE support network we have of organizations and important people and stuff), so definitely partner up with someone who knows what they’re doing. But I say, go for it! Good luck, and have a good summer!
OK, so I do agree with you on some points but on other points not so much. I don’t know about you but in most schools, the dress code is barely enforced at all. With the dresscode at my school(shorts/skirts must come up to your middle finger and no straps) I hear A LOT of students complaining about how awful it is and even more breaking it. The point is, most teachers don’t enforce it… I mean why would they??? Take time out of their already short class to enforce some clothing regulation which people will end up hating them for. Don’t get me wrong, I feel for your struggles… I mean I live in Florida, you can practically fry an egg in the summer heat. The thing is… imagine if there was no dress code AT ALL.There would be no limits to what people would wear and they could come dressed to school in a bikini. I don’t know about you but I am getting some serious visual images. Dresscode isn’t all how short something is or how tight it is. It is also making sure what is written or shown on clothing is appropriate for a learning environment. Imagine if someone came to school with a shirt saying F*** or other language that is deemed “vulgar” or showing some racy sex scene. No one could do anything about it because there is no dress code. Another point I would like to mention are hormones. I know that teens aren’t the sex crazed hooligans that media projects us as but I also know that if your cleavage is on display next to some poor guy on a big exam, chances are, the guy won’t be focused on the exam. This guy might be considered a pervert but it’s not necessarily his fault if the girl has her guns on show and he can’t ignore his hormones. Yeah, yeah the girl might say, “I’m allowed to wear what I want” or “This is the 21st century not the middle ages”… but sometimes I look at people and think SERIOUSLY…. Ya it might be hot but it ain’t THAT hot. Whether or not you want to… you are dragging attention to yourself. I know I’m totally off topic here but you mentioned slut shaming and I want to give my opinion on what a slut is. In my opinion, a slut isn’t someone who dresses in shorts or a tank top and unknowingly receives attention for it or doesn’t like the attention it generates. In my opinion, a slut is someone who revels in the attentions and dresses not in a “provocative” way because of the hot Floridian sun but because of the male attention she receives. You might think those type of people only exist in cliche teenage films, but trust me with all the push up bras I see in my school…It might be double standards but really, guys and girls are different and you can’t pretend otherwise. I mean, people may ask if a guy can go around shirtless why can’t a girl…. when people ask that it makes me want to smack myself in the head.By all means go around shirtless, but just do expect society to accept you. I’m all for equal rights and all but girls and guys ARE different and I really hate when people try and pretend otherwise. IDK… maybe because my parents are pretty conservative I’m a bit old fashioned.
I’ve been looking around this website and I really love this movement. Keep of the work:)… and h.a.g.s
I understand your train of though in terms of hormones, but I think the point is that girls shouldn’t have to cater their clothes to guys’ lack of self control. It’s unfair to tell a girl “you have to sit uncomfortably all day in order to make a *man’s* day more comfortable.” That’s just plain sexist. Guys CAN “ignore [their] hormones,” just as girls can ignore theirs (and, slightly off topic, when guys listen to their hormones, things like dress codes are made to help them out. When girls listen to theirs, they’re slut-shamed). I agree with your point about people wearing clothes with vulgarities, but a dress code could easily be in place that limited those, and not exactly how many inches of skin a girl can show on her body. Lastly, if a girl likes the attention she receives from certain items of clothing, then you know what, that’s her choice. She shouldn’t be needlessly shamed for it.
just found this website (through rookie) and am loving it so far!
A petition to change the dress code will not solve the problem! We need to petition to make a change in our schools to teach young children about the sexualization of girls in the media and how to maintain a self-esteem that is not based on looks!
When the girl was talking about how only the skinny girls can wear the shorts shorts, I kind of agree because I have seen some girls who have a fuller figure who wear shorts that are definitely NOT the right size and their butts are hanging out. As long as girls with fuller figures af least cover everything that needs to be I don’t see an issue.
[…] heat isn’t for the faint of heart, and the only sane thing to wear on a day like that is shorts and a tank top. What can I say? I like it hot. I set myself up under a sprawling oak tree, and started typing away […]
[…] heat isn’t for the faint of heart, and the only sane thing to wear on a day like that is shorts and a tank top. What can I say? I like it hot. I set myself up under a sprawling oak tree, and started typing away […]