As a young girl who has been a part of the American school system for my entire childhood, I can say there are many hidden flaws and undisclosed discrimination.  One of the ways that the school system presents this is through dress codes.  I have had first-hand experiences where my shoulders were too distracting and my shorts were too revealing because god forbid they were shorter than “fingertip length.”  Thus, I have developed extreme insecurities and am occasionally uncomfortable in my own skin.  

The sad part is that I know other girls have experienced these insecurities as well.

The convenient thing about these rules is that I have rarely ever heard of a boy being dress coded for wearing a tank top or having on shorts shorter than their fingertips.  To simplify this up in one word I would deem the school system as sexist. 

Girls and boys are treated differently based on how they dress, which has resulted in a significant disparity in the development of physical insecurities. 

Stacie Dunn, a Woodfield County High student, shares her high school's rules of no skirts or shorts higher than the knee and shirts can not be below the collarbone.  And, of course, if she fights against the school rule, she will be sent home.  She is a first-hand witness to the discrimination that her school system shines on its students.  Seemingly appropriate outfits are appalling to the school system's eyes.  Why would they ever allow developing girls to explore their style and what they like?  Instead, let’s create a strict and orderly society where girls must show little to no skin and only wear pants and long-sleeve turtlenecks.

Not only does the American dress code promote sexism, but it also perpetuates racism.  Many schools have restricted clothing like hoodies, baggy coats, and hats.  

Any idea why this may be?

Safety and protection they say.  In reality, it is to target members of minority groups, more specifically Black students.  Why is it that we assume Black students will be the ones to carry guns or knives into school?  Because we assume they are violent and up to no good, usually with no evidence or reason to believe so.  According to a statistical graph posted by Statista, seventy-four percent of school shooters in the past 40 years have been White so how are these presumptions credible? Black students are targeted with dress codes more than others based solely on the pigmentation of their skin.  Schools go to the extent of banning certain hairstyles because “it does not follow policy.”  In 2020, two Black students in Houston were suspended for wearing their hair in dreadlocks.

Does a hairstyle warrant suspension?

The lengths that are taken to discriminate and put down young kids are much larger than anyone thinks.  Schools are degrading and do not care about children’s creativity or sense of self-identity.  Schools need to turn their actions around because eventually, everyone is going to realize the damage they are causing to their children’s development.
My message to any kid that is or has experienced discrimination through school dress codes is to ignore it and focus on discovering your identity, and the styles you like, and do not let anyone tell you that you can not be who you are or want to be.  Administrators need to keep their ears open to their students and be open to new ideas and creative pathways that students want to create, even with the way students dress.  The extent to which this problem has reached is absurd and our schools need to be more open-minded to creativity and expression of all kinds.

Works Cited

Claybourn, Cole. “Why School Dress Codes Are Often Unfair.” U.S. News, usnews.com, 

23 Dec. 2022

usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/why-school-dress-codes-are-often-unfair 

Greenfield, Marlene. “Number of mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and April 

2023, by shooter's race or ethnicity.” Statista, statista.com, April. 2023

 statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-race/ 

Zhou, Li. “The Sexism of School Dress Codes.” The Atlantic, theatlantic.com, 20 October. 2015

theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/school-dress-codes-are-problematic/410962/