Almost every school has a dress code, but I think that the schools/districts are targeting girls. Now why do I think this? The dress code for boys consists of ‘don’t sag your pants,’ which more than half of the boys do. Girls’ dress codes consist of ‘don’t wear shorts/dresses above the knee’, ‘don’t wear shirts that expose your shoulders’, ‘don’t wear tank tops’, ‘don’t wear V-neck shirts’, ‘don’t wear leggings’, and a lot more. 

I do understand some of the dress codes are important, like covering up what needs to be covered, but do my shoulders really affect the way of learning? The main excuse we are given is that it is “distracting for the boys,” but I don’t believe that these boys are distracted by my shoulders and legs. And if that really is the issue, maybe we should focus on teaching everyone not to sexualize women instead. 

If they want us to follow such a strict dress code, they should have the boys follow the same one. Some schools are in fact strong about breaking down dress code on boys, too. From what I have seen at the school I go to, girls are the ones who get dress coded most; I could simply be wearing leggings to feel comfortable and would get dress coded, but a boy could be standing right next to me while sagging and wearing a tank top.

I just think we should make it more fair and acceptable for the school dress code and for girls to be more comfortable.