Off-the shoulder tops: Girls’ struggle for equality
Iona Leys
Recently in the United States, girls have been sent home for wearing “revealing” and “inappropriate” clothing. A lot of girls and their parents have complained to schools that the dress code is unfair especially to girls.
In certain schools, girls are very limited as to what they are required to wear. In some instances a lot of schools are more lenient with the male dress code letting males wear tank tops or shorts, while females are not permitted to wear so called “inappropriate” clothing. The Calgary Herald says at Jack James School in Calgary, Canada. John Friesen, a grade 12 student agrees that boys can often wear tank tops to school on a warm day while girls cannot. In many schools, there has been a lot of gender discrimination that is influenced by the stereotype that women will distract men from their work, which is not entirely accurate. A high-school in California has received tremendous amount of positive support from the international community because a student of the high school posted pictures on twitter of this injustice.
(Young)
(wikiHow)
Yahoo News states that San Benito High School in Hollister sent some girls home because they were wearing off-the shoulder tops. The school also did not allow the girls to take yearbook pictures in their clothes. According to Suzannah Weiss, a Teen Vogue writer, “On the first day of school, around 50 girls and two boys ended up in the office for violating the dress code.” Media has picked up on this movement. Publications and social media have promoted this action all across the international community.
A Twitter user pointed out that the school yearbook showed girls in off-the-shoulder tops, insinuating that the rule is new and/or was not strongly enforced in the past. The school should be blamed for not thoroughly enforcing the rule at school.
As a girl observing this freedom of expression violation, girls should be able to wear whatever makes them feel comfortable. At the same time, the school also has a right to ban certain articles of clothing because they feel it is going to distract the male students. It is sexist but true in many schools.
This contradiction of the school rule was apparently not enforced during the previous school year. However, now on the first day of the new school year, the rule has come into play. Some boys came to school and wore off the shoulder tops to recognize the harshness and severity of the issue at stake. There has been a positive response from classmates and social media for their actions. Many females have applauded the actions because it shows that people, including males, care for female-related issues.
According to Jennifer Uffalussy, a writer at Yahoo, The principal of the high school said, “We wouldn’t blame a female student at all. We would never blame a female student for another student being distracted by something they wore.” The principal stated that he does not feel that the wearing of the off-the-shoulder top was distracting. He states that the rule was always part of the dress code and he wants to ensure improved enforcement of the rule.
Yahoo News says that the San Benito High School principal discussed about how they can make the dress code more fair where student body input is valued. The principal understands the severity and seriousness of this issue, so he wants to make a difference. By enlisting the student body to help him with altering the dress code, he will make the students more involved in the decisions of the school and encourage a more lenient but professional dress code.
Schools should treat girls’ dress codes the same as boys’ ones. Since currently it is not, the dress code is unfair and unjust. There should be more people that fight for their individual rights and opinions to be heard and respected. Everyone should have a voice and the rules should not only be applied to females; they should be gender neutral. To conclude, schools should recognize and alter policies to make sure everybody is treated equally and given the same opportunities.
Works Cited:
wikiHow. “How to Wear Off the Shoulder Tops.” WikiHow, WikiHow, 13 Dec. 2018, www.wikihow.com/Wear-Off-the-Shoulder-Tops.