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Arguments on school dress codes
Body image of girls in society
Societies expectations of womens body image
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Recommended: Arguments on school dress codes
Don’t you just hate it when you’re simply shopping at the grocery store, but then you see someone’s shoulder? That shoulder is SO distracting that you can’t chose the best jar of pickles for your hamburgers. You’ve definitely never seen a shoulder before. Oh wait, that has never happened to you, has it? This is why I don’t understand why girls at school are restricted to wearing certain shirts. Girls should be allowed to wear tank tops at school. Disallowing girls to wear shirts that exposes a girls shoulder makes men think they should sexualize women just because they see shoulder, adds to the issue of sexism, and punishes girls and distracts them from their education.
Girls are told we cannot wear certain clothes because it is distracting
...oday there are increasingly fewer attacks on the student body regarding their clothing, undoubtedly to prevent upsetting more parents. We can see in Source F that this pressure to look a certain way never really ends, and this is true for both men and women. Although this pressure to have a perfect appearance doesn’t stop after high school, the Bedford North Lawrence Community Schools should be understanding and more lenient on some of the less scandalous clothing choices to make students feel comfortable and give them a realistic feel for how people dress and behave in public. In the end, everyone’s body is their own personal business and should not be dictated by another person or shamed for how it is presented, however BNL behaved the exact opposite of this at the beginning of the school year, making the way the administration handled the situation inappropriate.
Schools typically justify their dress codes by maintain that it’s important to keep the classroom free of any distractions, however, that language actually reinforces the idea that women’s bodies are inherently tempting to men and it’s their responsibility to cover themselves up.
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. "
Did you know that Americans spend around one billion dollars per year on school uniforms? At the beginning of every school year, families shop for weeks and weeks to find specific clothes that fit into a school’s strict uniform dress code. School uniforms should not be required in schools because they take away from the student’s freedom of expression, do not lower disciplinary problems, and do not prevent bullying based on economic status. Dress codes often have more of a negative impact than a positive impact when it comes to students being able to learn. Many people say that being in free dress is a distraction, when in reality, uniforms are more of a distraction.
I know the reason is so that girls don't show too much of their chest, but if you put a jacket or sweater on there is the same chance that your chest will be shown than when you don't have a jacket on. If the shirt isn't skin tight, then it doesn't even matter. If it is hot outside you want to wear tanks. Therefore, I think we should be able to wear tank tops and sleeve less shirts in school.
For example, in many institutions including The College of The Bahamas, there are absurd rules restricting self-expression through clothing, mainly for female students. The College of The Bahamas’ rule book states that female students must not wear short pants and are only allowed to wear pants, skirts, or dresses that come beneath their longest finger when placed at their sides. Male students are admonished to wear shirts with appropriate text, text that does not promote a violent lifestyle. Despite these rules being set for both sexes, in reality only female students are penalized. An observation has proven that most female students who want to gain access to the library on campus must be properly attired according to the rules, while male students are allowed to wear shirts that contain profanity and even promote a sexually promiscuous lifestyle. In this way, schools and business places also perpetuate rape culture, when they tell female students or employees that they are not allowed to wear a certain length of clothing because they will sexually tempt and provoke their male counterparts. Another way that schools sometimes perpetuate rape culture is by blaming female students for the way that males act.
Society shows us what is considered to be socially acceptable. In fact, if you google “socially acceptable”, lists will pop up that names things that society judges you for. At school, it has been socially unacceptable to have too much of your shoulders showing. Your sleeves must be at least four fingers wide. The reason being that shoulders could be “distracting to other students”. Society is sexualizing yet another part of the human body. In the book The Crucible, women were expected to be covered at all time. It was not socially acceptable for women to wear anything revealing. In The Scarlet Letter, women were not suppose to wear anything that would draw attention to
Soraya Chemaly’s article, “What’s Wrong with Degrading Girls and Women in Schools?” examines the objectification of girls and women in schools and universities that has yet to be understood as sexist and discriminatory. Chemaly illustrates that actions such as males wearing t-shirts with derogatory sayings and pictures, are viewed at as “silly”. In addition, she proves that for years colleges have looked the other way while fraternities engage in sexist demoralizing games that reduce a woman to nothing more than body parts. Chemaly also notes that females acceptance of objectification begins at a young age, when they learn to accept that this is just how
Should Britain and other Western countries follow the Belgian and French examples and ban the burqa and the niqab? In other words, should the West prohibit any and all clothing that conceals one's identity? According to some surveys, most Europeans seem to expect the ban of burqa and niqab ("Widespread Support for Banning Full Islamic Veil in Western Europe"). However, a significant part of society, particularly in the United States and quite a few feminists have considered such a ban as religiously intolerant, anti-Western and primarily anti-woman. They maintain that the state has no right to decide what a woman can and cannot wear—it is her body, not public property; that given the worldwide exploitation of women as pornographic sex objects, wearing loose, comfortable, modest clothing, or actually covering up, might be both convenient and more dignified; that because of the West's tolerance toward religions, the state cannot come between a woman and her conscience because it would be a betrayal of Western values; and that women are freely choosing to wear the burqa. Some Western intellectuals, such as Leon Wieseltier,
Ensuing President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address in January of 1996, more and more public schools are implementing dress codes and uniform policies in their schools. As a result, there has been an increase in legal controversies dealing with the issue. The reason that dress codes are not conclusively enforced is due to the application of the First Amendment to juveniles in the public school setting. The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Should children in public schools be able to wear whatever they want because of the freedoms classified in the First Amendment? I feel that the answer is no. Institutionalizing dress codes in public schools would do a great good for students and the entire academic community. I base my opinion on the fact that the pros of imposing dress codes outweigh the cons of the argument. By imposing dress codes or uniforms for students, it would eliminate opportunities for the ridicule of less popular or less fortunate students based on their attire, help prevent gang violence and gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia in schools, and generate an overall better academic concentration and discipline in the educational community.
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.
Pants below waist, baggy shirts with sexist signs, and piercings, this is not a good view early in the morning. That’s why the school should implement a uniform policy. Uniforms should be mandatory in school. Uniforms make the school appear more professional. Also with uniforms students won’t compare themselves with each other. Moreover uniforms can help students save time. Additionally parents won’t have to waste so much money on clothes hence will have a better budget.
The history of brassieres and all the types of bras that are available to women are expanding day by day. One of the main reasons women wear brassieres is for the support being needed and the comfort that is given. The importance of wearing hosiery and full torso undergarments are due to being able to emphasize the shape and show off the natural curve to ones body. Many women used it to help them maintain and perfect there body shape.
In Vawter’s article there is a clear understanding of why she doesn’t want the same incident to happen to her own daughter and states “I don’t let my own nine-year-old ride her bike alone but you better believe when she is older I will, because up until my crash it was my favorite thing to do ever.”(Vawter). The author is so traumatised from the incident that she wouldn’t let her daughter ride a bike on her own. Although these teenage boys ruined the amusement of riding a bike for the author, it does not mean that her daughter will never have the opportunity to experience the same joy. Vawter’s article also tackles some of the common arguments that women are asking for problems when they wear revealing clothing. After the accident that she had on her bike, her parents questioned her saying, “What were you wearing?” attempting to blame the accident on Vawter. This is a common misconception that women are dressing the way they are to catch men’s attention, which is bullshit because Vawter shows that it does not matter what you wear when she explains her appearance during the incident,“ I was a total nerd. I was tall for my age, around five foot seven by the time I was 11, long hair … and a mouthful of shiny metal braces and headgear complimented by a shirt my parents had made at a mall kiosk, a giant pair of lips and glitter on a decal that read Tin Grins Are In”(Vawter). The author is stating her appearance during the situation, telling the reader that she wasn’t dressed in skin tight jeans or revealing clothing. This shows that women are still targeted no matter how they appear or what they are doing, it 's not their fault. On the other hand, the logos in Lewak’s article aggravates the reader due to the lack of knowledge on the topic, she claims that “catcalls are
...s that are longer than the girl’s skirts. Although male student’s values were strongly set on education, their mind still does wonder by trying to catch a glimpse of a girl bending over. Some girls deny that they wear their dresses too short. This causes a distraction. The guys will not pay attention in class. Instead of paying attention, they will stare at the short dresses on the girls. This causes the boys to do work at a lower level. The schools should make a rule on the skirt lengths and enforce it with severe punishments such as detentions, suspensions, and expulsions. This rule should make the lengths below the knees. If public students had one thing over their private school counterparts it's about to change.