Women have dress codes enforcing how much of their legs they can show, how much of their chest they can show, how much of their stomachs they can show, and even how much of their shoulders they can show. Telling a young girl that she cannot wear a tank top with 1-inch straps is really telling her that even her shoulders are not acceptable for public display.
Telling a young girl that she cannot wear shorts or skirts that do not reach her knees tells her that she doesn't dictate what is appropriate about her body—society does. Telling a young girl that she cannot show her chest tells her that if her body distracts men it is her fault, not theirs. Telling any woman anything about their bodies fosters body shaming."
For example, In March 2015, Sofia Pierson stood straight and still in an eighth-grade classroom at Fairhaven Middle School in Bellingham, Washington. Behind Pierson stood a female classmate in a decorative skirt; she scanned her surroundings nervously as a staff member patrolled the hallways looking for students in violation of the school's dress code.
Such provisions are fairly common at high schools and middle schools across the country. Schools often deem certain attire a "distraction" for other students, and it's usually female-specific clothing—short skirts, dresses above the knee, skin-baring tops—that is seen as the culprit. For example, at Tottenville High School in Staten Island, in one two-week period in 2014, 200 students—90 percent of whom are girls—were cited for dress code violations
There is a growing chorus of students at hundreds of schools who are speaking out against sexist dress codes that are based on the idea that girls' and women's attire is to be judged on the basis of boys' and men's presumed reaction to it. In most places, policy change in the form of an effective yet inclusive and gender-neutral dress code has been hard to come by. I think the best solution would be no dress code at all. Because when it comes to freedom for all students, including those who are gender-nonconforming, the fewer restrictions the better.
