One time in elementary school, the teachers brought all the fifth grade to one teacher’s classroom. We had an introduction to the dress code.

 Later that same year, my mother went to the principal and asked if my 5-year-old brother, who was in kindergarten, could have a mohawk. He agreed. My brother got it. His teacher’s aid tried to make him shave it.

In middle school, I got dress coded for straps that were too thin on my tank top. The same day in my class, a boy had large cutouts in the armholes of his shirt. I asked my teacher about it. 

They said, “I’m not going to do anything about it because the dress code is for girls, not boys.”

Another time, a teacher pulled me aside at the end of her class.  I went to the office for a one-inch hole near the top of my jeans. I had to stay in the office waiting for clothes for an hour. 

You can find the Coffee County Central High School’s dress code here. 

In this article, I am by no means saying dress code standards should be abolished altogether. It is essential to prepare us for the workforce and keep everything orderly while we are still here. 

But rather, school policies should be re-evaluated. 

The dress code encourages a misogynistic environment by targeting feminine clothing and encourages a “boys will be boys” behavior and rape culture. 

“Boys will be boys” should refer to stupid stunts and playing around. Actually, it originally did: 1589 is the earliest recording of this phrase and it translated into, “Children will be children and do childish things.”

Nevertheless, we know that no longer rings true in today’s world. The idea has morphed into something much scarier. It is now used to excuse males’ behaviors. It is often matched with perverted behaviors and rape culture. 

Dress code pushes this idea by telling girls to cover up so the boys will not be distracted, even if it costs the girl to lose valuable class time. This implies a boy’s education is worth more than a girl’s and he is more of a value to society.

These experiences can follow you for life and leave you victim-blaming for years to come. 

This leaves us with indetermination. You may ask, how do we fix these standards? We can easily fix these issues by making the dress code more lenient while keeping the rules that keep order in the school. 

As well, Rule Seven in the book says, “No tank tops or spaghetti straps – Sleeveless shirts will be permitted so long as armholes are not revealing.” 

Just as ankles were once too revealing, so were shoulders. They have both moved past senseless sexualization and are in our everyday lives. 

The difference is when we have moved past the sexualizing of ankles while we still require shoulders to be covered up. Seeing that, there is no reason tank tops should be unwarranted.

Clearly, if students cannot wear mid-length shorts and a tank top without distracting others, we have a much bigger problem on our hands. 

Popular singer, Billie Eilish, had a similar problem. While rising in fame, her clothes got baggier and baggier. She didn’t want others judging her body and focusing on that rather than her music. 

Eilish even said in a 2019 Calvin Klein ad, “Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath. Nobody can be like, ‘she’s slim-thick,’ ‘she’s not slim-thick,’ ‘she’s got a flat a**,’ ‘she’s got a fat a**.’ No one can say any of that because they don’t know.” 

Despite all of that, Eilish’s problem was not solved. Many people loved the guessing game and would think and say whatever they wanted about her body, ultimately defeating the purpose of the clothes in the first place. 

Eilish eventually had a shocking decision at a concert in early 2020; she revealed more of what her body looks like. It seems ever since no one cares about how she covers herself anymore. 

Eilish’s experience goes to show, no matter how much of a body is covered up it can still leave people wandering and distracted. Schools can do everything in their power to keep from distracting others, but if someone cares and is that distracted by a shoulder, it should not be the student’s fault. 

Even so, do not forget. I said it at the start, in paragraph six, and I’ll repeat myself. School dress codes are necessary for a healthy learning environment. 

Some rules such as the no sunglasses, trench coats, inappropriate displays on clothing, and bare feet/ house shoes are all reasonable requests and should be fulfilled for the safety of ourselves and others. I want the student body to stay as safe as can be. 

But ultimately, revising the old dress code is necessary, and creating a new progressive version (maybe even including input of students) would not only let kids feel more comfortable in the day but would draw attention away from the pressure put on them by pleasing boys, leaving class, and could teach the ones who “can’t control themselves” life lessons. 

This progressive dress code would stay reasonable and put everyone on an equal scale when it comes to how they may dress in the learning day; therefore, creating a positive environment where everyone is welcomed, what CCCHS is all about- right?