Post 4: "You Asked For It"

When  I was in middle school I was constantly sent to the principal’s office. Not for bad behavior or bad grades but because I was out of dress code. Somedays it was because my shorts were too short, or my tank top was not properly covering my shoulders. My skin was showing in places considered distracting to my male classmates by the school board. At my particular middle school, if you were caught out of dress code your parents could either bring you a more “appropriate” article of clothing or you were sent to ISS (In School Suspension). Since my parents worked full time jobs they were never able to leave work and bring me a change of clothes. So I spent those days in ISS doing packets of busy work, missing out on a full day of learning. Thinking back on it now, it was a tad ridiculous. But back then I didn’t really think too much into it. I kind of accepted it. That those were the rules.

With dress code, boys and girls are judged by different standards. 

Instead of blaming women, blame the man. "Rape is rape." 

The enforcement of dress code in public schools suggest a number of things. We constantly see that girls are more harshly critiqued than boys when it comes to dress code. As a girl, I was told to cover my legs, cover my shoulders, cover my waist, and cover my belly. Whereas for boys, they are typically only penalized for wearing a hat or if their pants are sagging. It’s no secret that boy and girls are judged by different standards. Girls are told to keep themselves covered up because it distracts boys, which prioritizes boys’ education over their own.  Every time I was sent to ISS my education was compromised because my shoulders and thighs were showing. It sent the message to me subconsciously that the way I was dressed was valued more than my education, that I needed to keep myself covered to stay out of trouble and if I wanted to avoid unwanted to male attention, then I also needed to dress “humbly”. Dress code tells us that boys are "beholden and accountable to no one," in regards to their behavior and that girls must dress “right” to protect themselves from harmful advances made by boys (Kimmel 7).

These ideas promoted through dress code regulation are often carried into adulthood. After being bombarded with them over the years by authority figures in our schools they become legitimized and embedded into our minds. But these ideas don’t stop with secondary education as adults we see the same type of policing of women’s bodies. Seen in rape culture and legislation response to reproductive rights. Despite the hyper sexual images we see in the media, the objectification of women’s bodies to sell a product and women being told countless times that "covenantal beauty is her only attribute," women are still put to blame when our bodies are violated because ‘we asked for it” (Killbourne 122). Which is ridiculous, because “rape is rape.”  Just as we were told in middle school when we wore those short shorts and distracted you’re male classmates. 

The same can be said about the United States struggle with abortion and reproductive rights. Even though abortion in the United States is no longer illegal, there are many obstacles in place to prevent women from getting one. Such as counseling, no access, and others. Many politicians who are typically white males fight to prevent women the right to make choices regarding their bodies. They are typically ill informed about how the female body works, and have irrational arguments to support their views. Not only do these views include anti-abortion, they also include birth control. Making birth control had to obtain, and even creating ideas that it is shameful or looked down upon. The same can be said about sex education, many states lack in proper sex education. And many states in the south don’t teach sex education, but absence. And since the United States doesn’t regulate on a federal level what each state teaches in sex education, some school don’t receive sex education at all. These politicians are typically blurring the lines between religion and state. But the debate over reproductive rights in some ways is a smoke screen to maintain power and control. Regardless though, it promotes the idea that women are not intelligent enough to decide what is best for their own bodies, life, and health.  

However, there are groups who are fighting against this small, yet loud minority. Such as Planned Parenthood, who provided a variety of health services to women and men including abortion.

Works Cited: 
 Michael Kimmel: Misfaming Men 
Jean Kilbourne : Beauty and the Beast of Advertising 
Roxane Gay: The Alienable Rights of Women