 |
| In some schools, girls are demanded to change into sweatpants if their clothes are too revealing |
Dress codes have become a justification for girls to be subjected to judgment and control by authority figures in schools. Girls are constantly being told what they should and should not wear in school environments, and around boys. Despite being put in a place to provide a guideline on professionalism in school, dress codes have become strict to a ridiculous levels, especially for girls. When girls are told that their outfits are inappropriate to a degree that they need to go home, it creates numerous issues. To start off, it reflects the issue that girl’s bodies are sexualized at a young age. It also creates a message that boys have an innate animal instinct that they are meant to act on--it is just part of their personality and girls must avoid it. By sending girls home, it inherently states that a boy’s education is more important that a girls. Lastly, it implies that girls are responsible for their own safety and avoiding unwanted advances. Schools are essentially telling girls that to avoid unwanted attention, all they have to do is not dress inappropriately. This will create issues when girls get older and the school system is replaced with the law, and the law only reinforces what schools have taught. By criminalizing the depiction of women in media, and using the excuse of boys will be boys, the problem of body policing translates into larger problems where the experiences of women are seen as less than those of men.
While schools are constantly placing restrictions on girls’ attire, the media is doing the exact opposite. Media images are contradicting to what girls are taught in school, and glorify the outfits that school dress codes are against. Singers like Taylor Swift and Arianna Grande have incorporated crop tops, and short skirts and shorts into their looks, which of course young girls would want to emulate. On top of that, shows and movies that are incredibly popular among teen girls such as Gossip Girl, Mean Girls, and Pretty Little Liars use actresses that are in their 20’s or 30’s to portray teenagers. Not only are these shows providing unrealistic scenarios and expectations of high school, but they are as well misleading young girls on what they can wear in school and in their daily lives. Due to the fact that these actresses are older, sexualizing them on TV through revealing outfits isn’t a crime, however it affects the mindsets of young girls who see such portrayals and want to look like those actresses. With media images coming down hard on young girls and teenagers, school dress code only criminalizes the opposite side of the spectrum, and imprint a negative association with women who are old enough to fully understand what it means to take charge of their sexuality.
 |
| Wearing revealing clothes does not mean you are more likely to be raped. Nor is it an invitation for unwanted advances. |
Dress codes imply that girls are responsible for whether or not they receive unwanted advances, based on how revealing their attire is. The fact that girls are constantly being told what not to wear, it bleeds into what they shouldn’t do. These schools teach boys and girl that boys naturally have animal instincts and cannot control themselves, so girls are the ones in charge of protecting themselves. This ideology is only reinforced when teenagers get older, especially when it comes to the law and rape culture. When it comes to rape, police officers often ask a woman what she was wearing, or doing, or saying, and whether or not they provoked the rape. There is an assumption that girls were inviting such advances based on their actions and their clothes. However, the problem with rape culture is that more people are teaching girls what they shouldn’t be wearing, instead of teaching boys not to rape. When it comes to rape, clothes are not the problem because plenty of girls still get raped regardless of whether their outfits are revealing or not. Dress codes in schools have destructive results because they teach the idea that girls are in charge of what attention they receive because of their clothes, and that they are in charge of their safety. So as a result, it provides a sense of helplessness for girls because they do not have the freedom to dress a certain way or the protecting they need when rape occurs; but the internalized messages that boys receive (boys are animals that act on instinct) relieve men of the blame of rape because they were taught that it is the girls responsibility not to attract unwanted advances, and that they are men that react as opposed to think.
Why choose young people?
 |
| Slut Walks are held in protest of not only what school dress codes stand for, but the general public's body shaming of what girls and women wear. |
Young girls that are subjected to body policing in school face the earliest forms of the idea that their bodies do not exist for themselves. They are indoctrinated to believe that whether or not they display agency in their actions, their bodies will become subject to the will of men. We have seen in past years the idea that men and power structures dictating what women have to do with their bodies iterated time and time again. In terms of women’s reproductive rights women have constantly watched debate after debate, conference after conference of white men dictating what their bodies are capable of doing. In our readings, we have read of poor women of color that were forcibly sterilized because their government deemed them “incompetent.” Laws that were made to turn women away from their choice of abortion are examples of telling women being told what to with their bodies.
We also choose to focus on these young women and men because they are the ones that can change the narrative of men telling women what to do with their bodies. We have talked many times in class about how to go about changing ads, films, and images that employ detrimental ideas of the past. #Stopsexualizingus is a hashtag that girls have been using in order “take back their bodies.” These women that use this hashtag are displaying their agency, conveying to all that they are capable of making decisions in regards to their bodies and that these decisions should not be based on boy’s reactions.
When we remove the
mythos that schools are merely the epicenter of education, it becomes clear
that schools provide the framework of socialization and the reinforcement of
patriarchal ideals. The federal American government allows sex education to be
regulated by the states, and in many parts of the country the extent of sexual
education is simply telling children and teenagers to wait until marriage. By
deliberately evading proper sexual education, many schools promote the of myth
of female chastity and repress the natural curiosity many young people have
about sex and their developing bodies. The misinformation in American
sexual education proves to be actually quite detrimental to youth as states that
do not have proper sex education have higher rates of teen pregnancy. Instead
many young people are bombarded by unrealistic portrayals of sex in the media
and use that has a basis of education, contributing to a cycle of
misinformation.
Citations:
http://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/water-cooler/stephanie-hughes-girl-sent-home-from-school-for-having-an-exposed-collarbone
http://www.today.com/video/girls-fight-back-over-school-dress-code-446048323533
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/school-dress-codes-are-problematic/410962/
No comments:
Post a Comment