School Dress Codes

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The Dress Code of America
The media, The Board of Education, The Government; All of these places hold a power over the public that they use to indoctrinate society in what they believe should be perceived as “normal”. We, society, allow these people to teach our children how they should view themselves and each other. It is considered a cultural norm to allow the media tell us we should be showing more skin and then let our schools shame us for following through. The result is a disastrous mix of body shaming and the sexualization of women across the nation. School dress codes, while seemingly helpful, only add another layer to the chaotic mess that is body image. How a young girl learns to view her body will not affect her self-esteem for …show more content…

In fact, the Salem-Keizer school district has a list on their website detailing general rules for schools to ensure modesty. The list for middle schools (6th-8th) include, but is not limited to the following: No immodest clothing, such as tank tops, muscle shirts, backless tops or dresses. No Gloves, hats or head coverings. And lastly, no long (“Full-length”) coats or rainwear whilst inside the school. While it was a seemingly solid list, it unfortunately falls into a common pitfall most dress codes tend to forget; we are not the same. Each person, each human being, possesses a different body type, skin color, height, weight, not to mention different religions, or other personal believes. There are some religions that have attire that include headwear. Will the district go against students who are exercising their right of the First Amendment? There are some days that can get upward to ninety degrees out during the school year. Will a student be reprimanded for wearing clothing that allows him/her to be comfortable to learn? It is impossible to create a list of fixed rules without leaving a large majority of people ostracized. This idea of standard is intangible at best, yet school districts like Salem-Keizer continue to teach kids that what they view as normal is something that we should all strive to accomplish. This taught ideal of standard that dress codes initiate …show more content…

It seems, especially in the younger age groups, that the schools are creating a problem that doesn’t exist. Indeed, beyond the absurd fact that they are stipulating that young students cannot focus simply because a classmates shoulder is exposed, the entire reason it might be “distracting” is the fact that it is prohibited. This is exemplified by a New Jersey school dealing with the backlash of the imposition of stricter dress codes. In the two weeks following the new rules, dozens of kids were publicly yelled at and some were even given detentions. “The DOE says five students were placed in detention, but dozens of others received verbal warnings”. For rules that were supposed to provide “order” to the school they seem to be having the opposite effect. Plus, besides being humiliated, many kids were outraged that these new rules were dictating clothing that their own parents allow them to wear. Jonathan Giardino, a student at Tottenville High School, states in an interview for 7online.com that “If their parents let them out wearing it, there's no reason the school should be telling them not to wear it,” Giardino raises the interesting question of whether schools should have any say in what students wear. Schools are exist to teach and nurture kids, not parent them. In congruence with that conclusion, shouldn’t schools leave the

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