While the majority of students may journey through their academic career, and never once experience being reprimanded for violation of a dress code, of those who do, women are disproportionately affected. 

 

A simple Google search of “dress code violation statistics” will overwhelm the viewer with surveys, editorials, and flatline statistics that illustrate the dramatic number of women and girls who have been affected by their school’s or institution’s dress code. 

 

A national survey demonstrated a distinct difference in the number of those who were aware of a female peer versus a male peer being dress-coded. While 79.3% of respondents knew of a female peer being dress-coded within a high school, only 3.7% were aware of a male individual who had been reprimanded for their clothing and/or choice of dressing.1 

 

This is likely attributed to the fact that dress code policies disproportionately include language and regulations that enforce restriction of female students, including the banning of clothing that is too “revealing” or “distracting,” such as spaghetti-strap tank tops, shorts, etc., clothing prominently worn by women.2

 

This trend is also true at Westlake High School, where one line states that “extremely brief garments such as shorts, skirts, tops, spaghetti straps, plunging necklines (front and/or back) and see-through or otherwise revealing garments are not appropriate.” 

 

I have experienced being dress-coded first hand at Westlake, and it is humiliating. Essentially, you are told, usually in a public manner, that your current appearance is improper. Then, you are placed in a situation where you completely lose control over yourself--forced to change an aspect of yourself, or face academic penalty. Obviously, schools handle dress-coding students in a variety of methods. But, in most circumstances, it is a choice between changing the offending outfit and/or taking off the accessory, or going home.

 

The first time I was dress-coded, I was in sixth grade. It was my birthday. At the beginning of the school day, before my homeroom class, I was stopped by a faculty member, who said, verbatim, “You know, you can’t wear that, right?” 

 

The “that” was a cropped sweatshirt. When I raised my arms, you could see the lower part of my stomach. So, I had to change into a gym shirt from my locker. To say the least, that certainly ruined that birthday for me. 

 

Last year, at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, I encountered another conflict with the school’s dress code. A teacher at Westlake, throughout several classes, had begun making public comments concerning my and several of my female peers’ outfits, insinuating that our outfits were better fit for a club than his class. One of my classmates was once asked “where are your clothes,” while wearing a full outfit. 

 

The teacher never reported our “violations” of the dress code, he just continued his onslaught of remarks and jeers. I, however, did not remain silent on the matter. I went to another one of my teachers, someone I trusted to confide in, who suggested that I--and a group of peers--revise Westlake’s current dress code. 

 

So, that’s what we did. Since the beginning of 2022, a group of us, now juniors, have been meeting with Mr. Schenker, the Westlake High School Principal, and Mr. Amann, the Westlake High School Vice-Principal, to rewrite and revise Westlake’s dress code, which had not been significantly changed in several years, to establish neutrality and equality in restrictions, language and phrasing within the code, and, consequently, in faculty and staff’s treatment of students in correspondence with dress-related concerns and conflicts. 

 

After meeting with the district superintendent, Dr. Giarrizzo, in mid-October, it seems likely that, for the 2023-2024 school year, Westlake High School will have a new dress code policy that ensures respect for and equality among Westlake’s student body. 

 

There is a singular reason why I have taken this conflict to the extent that I have: I do not want any future students to feel the humiliation that I did on my birthday during sixth grade, nor the loss of control I had experienced last year. Regardless of the situation and circumstance at hand, no one deserves to be publicly penalized for their clothing. To continuously make comments, as this teacher had, is not appropriate for a teacher, an advisor, or a role model. And, hopefully, it will stop here. 

 

All this being said, I do believe schools should have a formal, dress code policy: 

 

It is designed for the safety and protection of the students, faculty, and staff. It ensures that a student does not put their peers in danger by wearing hazardous and/or discriminatory articles of clothing or accessories. Ultimately, in an educational setting, the protection of others supersedes the right of an individual to wear whatever they please. 

 

Nonetheless, if a peer can see my abdomen when I lift my shirt, they are not in danger. If a teacher’s only concern with my outfit is his/her belief that it is fit for a nightclub, he/she is not in danger. These personal instances were not violations of the dress code for the sake of preserving the safety of students; they were acts of repression, an attempt to reduce my individuality, and, subsequently, preserve the discrimination of women and girls that manifests within school dress codes. 

 

All that said, if a dress code itself is harmful to those it is meant to protect as it perpetuates discrimination and marginalization of any group or individual, a change needs to be instituted, as should be the policy for anything and everything.

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Works Cited:

1Eagan, Ary. "Are Dress Codes Actually Necessary?" The Student News Site Of Central Kitsap High School. The Cougar Chronicle, cougarchronicle.org/opinion/2020/12/18/the-issue-with-dress-codes/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2022.

2Nittle, Nadra. "Lawsuits, Complaints and Protests Are Upending Sexist School Dress Codes." The 19th News, 12 Jan. 2022. The 19th, 

19thnews.org/2022/01/ school-dress-code-challenges/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2022.