High School Dress Code Essay

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Alyssa Norden Princess Storrer AP Composition 20 May 2014 Dress Codes: More Than Just Clothing Regulations Schools all over the world have created and enforced dress codes. Some schools are more relaxed than others; however, they all share the common theme of regulating what students can and cannot wear during the school day. But what happens when the latest fashion trends completely compromise the implemented dress code? That is the problem student’s-particularly young women- are facing in today’s society. The overwhelming increase in dress code violations has brought to light another issue associated with the codes: sexism. More and more, young women are being targeted and punished for dress code violations. While this may be due to the fact that fashion in today’s society is all about tight clothes, it could also lead to more …show more content…

To place the blame on young women for how they are treated by men due to their dress is completely unfair. A girl could wear an oversized t-shirt and baggy sweatpants and a boy will still be curious about her. The same is true for girls. The idea that it is a girl’s fault if she is commented about or raped for how she is dressed is sickening and completely sexist. Reilly Card and Neil Haran, authors of an article titled “High School Dress Codes: Sexist or Appropriate?” in their school newspaper, give an example of this blame, using the phrase “she was asking for it” to prove this point. No girl is ever asking to be catcalled at, or ogled at, or-even worse-raped. As stated before, girls go to school to learn, and their clothing should not impede that. Card and Haran also raise awareness to the fact that by calling what girls wear “offensive” or “promiscuous”, it is implied that they dress more to impress the male population rather than to exert their self-confidence or show off a new outfit. This is not fair to young women, as it further blames them for anything bad happening to

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