Written by: Jessica Cook
Storytime…..
I received a call from my daughter, saying that I needed to bring her a change of clothes to school. She had been dress coded. It’s not what you would think when I say “dress coded”. She didn’t go out of the house looking like she was going to work the corner. She had a pair of ripped jeans on. Now if any of you have been to the mall recently, you would know that’s it’s dang near impossible to find a pair of jeans that DO NOT have some sort of a rip on them. Aside from that, it’s what’s in style! Of course my 13 year old wants to dress the latest trends. So what is a parent to do? Fight the system.
I’m sure some of you will not agree with me and that is fine. I’m not fighting the system so that my daughter can wear whatever she wants to school. Yes, I do agree that some sort of dress code needs to be in place. However, what I do not agree with is the nit picking of what FEMALE students are wearing. There have been comments made by those who enforce the dress code that ripped jeans, tank tops, shirts that show even a little cleavage & shirts that show even a bit of skin worn by female students are a distraction to Male students. Hmm…..have you never been a hormonal teenager in general? No matter the sex? Are female students not as easily distracted by male student’s legs, arms, chests, etc? Why is it only the females who are a distraction? I will break down the double standard, with Proof, of how male & female students are treated differently. Below are a few examples of what male students at a local Middle school have been allowed to wear, in comparison to photos of female students who had been dress coded for wearing something similar.
On the left, a female Student was Dress coded for rips above her knee.
On the right, a male student has worn these pants multiple times with no implications whatesoever.
First of all, I do not see a problem with EITHER of these pairs of pants. Secondly, the male’s holes are much more prominent than the female’s holes. Why then did only the female student have to call her parents in the middle of HER school day to come & bring her a change of clothes? Tell me how in this scenario, did this EFFECT the Male Student’s School day? Seems to me the only one who ended up distracted, effecting their schooling in the least bit, was the female student.
Another example of where a female student was dress coded for ripped jeans & a Male student wearing similar jeans was not.
Another example of breaking the dress code is student’s wearing “short shorts”. NO, I do not condone itty bitty booty shorts on students, no matter if they are female or male. But it seems like it is almost impossible for girls to wear any type of shorts, skirts or dresses to school. However, boys are allowed to wear basketball type athletic shorts. Why are girls not allowed to wear running shorts? There is also a new style out for boys where short shorts are “IN”. Yet, these boys are not being dress coded.
Female Student on left wearing gym shorts that she was dress coded for & made to change.
Male student on right wearing gym shorts 3 out of the 5 days of the week & never being dress coded.
What’s even more sad is that even BOYS are noticing the double standard and poking fun of it. There is a popular ap called, Tik Tok. If you type in the search bar, Dress Code, multiple videos of boys poking fun at how Teachers ONLY dress code females can be found.
There are also several petitions made BY students of both genders,circling popular Social Media aps asking for school boards to reevaluate their dress code policies, as well as enforce equality amoungest current dress code policies.
Why am I doing this you ask? This honestly has nothing to do with the isolated incident of my daughter being dress coded. This is just a way to help give her and her friends a VOICE. A voice to advocate and inform on the reality of what’s happening within the schools regarding dress code violations.
I’ll be doing a follow up blog on today’s fashion, local popular and trendy stores, as well as more examples from students themselves on the hypocrisy that is the dress code for male & female students.
Next Up on the blog………How local fashion and what is made available at popular clothing stores make it damn near impossible to follow current dress code guidelines.
About:
Hi! My name is Jessica and I am a Full time Mom of three. I have two teenagers and an 8 year old Autism Warrior!I own Everyday moms, a local Mom’s resource for the Tampa Bay & surrounding areas. If I’m not taxing around to Cheer, football, tutoring or therapy; you can catch me at Everyday Moms on Facebook & Instagram.
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