It’s no secret that school dress codes often lean heavily toward sexism. A glance at most dress codes reveals lengthy guidelines for girls while boys receive little more than a brief mention. But is it really necessary to cover the shoulders of a five-year-old simply for wearing a spaghetti strap dress?
Last week, when Tom Fisher picked up his daughter from school, he was taken aback to see her sporting a t-shirt over the sundress she had been so excited to wear. To make matters worse, she had on jeans beneath it! He had packed an extra outfit in case it got chilly, but his little girl was adamant about her new sundress, and he relented.
The dress code in their district specifically prohibits spaghetti strap dresses: “Students are not to wear clothing that is tight, loose, sagging, baggy, revealing, spaghetti-strap, backless, low cut or short.” However, Fisher did not foresee that this guideline would be enforced on a five-year-old. In his blog post for the Houston Chronicle, he remarked, “Let’s be clear; every school dress code that isn’t a uniform is focused on policing girls and girls only.”
Some might argue that this is simply a case of a parent not adhering to the rules, which resulted in his daughter needing to cover up. However, his critique of the dress code holds merit. When examined closely, the language is so vague that it could lead to shaming girls based on the subjective judgment of the school officials enforcing it.
Highlights from the Dress Code
- Shorts and Skirts – must fit at the waist or upper hip, must not reveal underclothing, and must reach mid-thigh or longer
- Tops and Blouses – must not reveal underclothing, midsection, torso, back, chest, breasts, or cleavage
- Dresses – must not reveal underclothing, midsection, torso, back, chest, breasts, or cleavage, and must be mid-thigh in length or longer
While these might seem like reasonable expectations, they leave very few options for girls. Particularly with shirts, which “must not reveal underclothing, midsection, torso, back, chest, breasts or cleavage.” So what’s left for girls to wear? Turtlenecks or high-neck t-shirts? Consider how many items in your wardrobe don’t show even a hint of your back or an errant bra strap!
As someone who went through early development, I can personally attest that an outfit can appear entirely different on two different bodies. My childhood friend, with her tall, slim frame and lack of curves, could wear the same attire I did yet appear “more modest” simply due to her lack of bust. Having had curvy hips since childhood, I’ve noticed that clothes fit me differently, often tighter, especially since kids’ clothing doesn’t accommodate diverse body shapes. Why are we teaching young girls to feel ashamed of their natural form? Covering a five-year-old’s shoulders? Fisher argues, “The obsession with policing girls for showing skin or developing earlier somehow suggests they are inviting commentary on their purity or even worse, assault. This mindset is not going away anytime soon.”
He’s absolutely right. Several recent incidents reinforce this point. For instance, nearly 200 girls at a New Jersey high school received detention because the dress code was altered to ban tank tops, even in sweltering heat. In another case, a Utah student was barred from wearing a dress that exposed her shoulders at a high school dance. Furthermore, last May, 30 young women at a Canadian high school were sent home for revealing glimpses of their bra straps beneath their tank tops.
Fisher’s critique of a dress code that penalizes our daughters for the slightest visibility of their bodies at such a young age is both valid and necessary. We should all be questioning why it’s deemed acceptable to regulate our daughters’ appearances so stringently.
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In summary, the scrutiny over young girls’ clothing choices reflects a larger issue of policing female bodies. We must reconsider the implications of such dress codes and the messages they send to our daughters.
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