The carefree days of summer have ended, and the 2015-2016 school year has come into full swing. The beginning of the first semester not only marks the start of the dress-code, but for many girls, the end of denim shorts, tank tops, and flowy dresses. In recent years, the dress-code has become extremely strict and unforgiving. Its enforcement has brought me to realize that it targets girls in particular – or at least seems that way. Implementing standards of public decency on the entirety of the student body is a very different thing than looking specifically for girls whose shorts don’t meet their fingertips or whose tank top straps aren’t two inches wide. The dress code’s newly systemic nature has consequently become polluted with sexist ideals.
Sexism, put simply, is the discrimination and oppression of someone based off of their gender identity. Though cisgender males can be affected by sexism, it is primarily experienced by both trans men and women, cisgender females, non-binary, intersex, and gender fluid individuals. It is inclusive of much more than the dress code issue, but it definitely plays a part in teaching young girls in particular that their bodies are inherently sexual and need to be hidden. This is extremely unhealthy and damaging; because ultimately, sexism in American society will undoubtedly continue – and that is an immense issue for the next generation of impressionable girls.
In my three years attending McClatchy, I have seen a considerable number of girls being dress-coded before and after school, during passing period and even the beginning of class. Though boys are dress-coded occasionally, it is far less frequent. This shows how centralized the dress code is towards girls. What is and is not considered appropriate by the McClatchy staff is extremely inconsistent. Many guys, for example, wear shirts with everything from sexualized women, to people smoking, to depictions of violence. Despite this, I have yet to see anyone wearing these types of shirts being dress-coded.
There are extremely unhealthy consequences to telling girls, and only girls, that their appearances are more important than their education and that their bodies should not be seen because they are shameful or perceived as sexual. Ingraining these misogynistic ideals in young girls and boys only allows for gender roles and sexism in society to perpetuate.
From workplaces to schools, sexism is prevalent everywhere in society. It’s particularly unfortunate that it still perpetuates itself, in something so simple as the way people dress. Ideally, a non-discriminatory, non-oppressive code should be established, in which no person, under any circumstance, is made to feel bad about their body. It’s a hopeful goal, especially considering the yearly reinforcement of the current dress-code – but it is plausible. Like anything, though, enough people need to care about the issue in order to help spur much needed change.