Dress Code Reflective Essay

Dress code is very discriminatory against girls and occasionally also against boys. We’ve all had a time when either you yourself were reprimanded or you witnessed someone else get reprimanded for their clothes in a school environment. What did you think about that? Chances are that it was a minor offence that got blown out of proportion. The dress codes that many adults have put in place to protect us has actually done the opposite. Strict dress codes are not necessary and can even be toxic to young minds.
FINGERTIP RULE
In seventh grade I decided that I had had enough with my school’s dress code policy. I wore shorts that were against code, mind that they were mid-thigh length, on purpose one day. The principal at the time saw me and demanded that I change. As calmly

It is easy to see that dress code is geared more towards girls than boys. Although that is true, there is yet another layer of bias. Typically it is “larger” girls who take the fall for dress code. Taller girls need to wear longer shorts, busty girls should wear looser shirts with higher cuts and more overweight girls aren’t to wear leggings. While it is true that girls who meet society’s standards get dress coded too, it is often not as frequent. “...school dress codes create an environment where women learn early on to feel ashamed of their bodies.” (Pooja “Dress Codes are Body Shaming”). Girls are often time forced to wear long pants on hot days due to the unavailability of school appropriate shorts. This tends to make them uncomfortably hot which can interfere with focus and learning. “Lower test scores, decrease in memory ability, lack of energy and losing focus are just a few symptoms of too hot or too cold temperature conditions in the classroom.” ("Do Classroom Temps Affect Student's Ability To Learn?”). Everyone has the right to be comfortable in the school environment so why is that still