Problems with school dress codes

Posted November 2020

By Elizabeth Philbrick

Staff Editor

Although dress codes have been a part of a school life since elementary, as students get older, the dress rules are harder to handle.

Female students are bothered by the dress codes that school districts set all throughout middle and high school, from not being able to wear spaghetti straps, to not being able to wear shorts or skirts that are too short. These clothes are too "distracting" for male students, girls are told, when all students know that’s not true.

Female students can’t have too many holes in their jeans; they can’t wear spaghetti straps; they can’t wear skirts or shorts that are too short; and they can’t wear shirts that are cropped too high. There’s so much more that could be added to that list, but those are the rules with the main problems.

Dress codes only teach guys that when girls wear this type of clothing, they’re just asking for attention. This is not just a problem in school, but also a problem when students are off-campus or going into their adult life. Thanks to dress codes, when something happens, girls are blamed because of their clothing, because they “wanted attention.”

Not that each dress code doesn’t have a problem, but one of the biggest problems would have to be the fingertip rule. Students can wear shorts or skirts, as long as they reach below the student’s fingertips when they reach down. When all students know that there is a variety of arm and finger lengths, which makes this ridiculous rule unfair. A female student with short arms can’t get dress coded, but a female student with long arms can.

The way students dress is a form of expression, with the exception of schools with uniforms. By taking that expression away, there’s no wonder some students aren’t happy going to school. With all the new trends coming in, students are going to want to try new clothes and find their aesthetic.

Dress codes are understandable when it’s a piece of clothing that’s actually distracting, but when it’s something like a shoulder, it’s a bit different. These dress codes and rules will only make female students afraid of what the world will be like after school because they know it’ll only get worse from that point on.