As the summer comes to an end and pool days turn into school days, students are left with one question: what should I wear? You may be like me, having collected American Eagle tiny tops and jean shorts with fashionable rips over the course of the summer. Or you might’ve spent most of the time on the beach in a two-piece. Regardless of how our styles differ, we can agree on one thing, we can’t let KHS stop the fun.
The high school dress code remains the same pretty much nationwide. Shorts need to go beyond the fingertips, tank tops need to be wider than three fingers and a girl’s chest may never be exposed. KHS is pretty strict when it comes to how their students dress, from embarrassing lectures to a student by their teacher, or getting sent down to the nurse’s office to change outfits. Every school takes dress code into consideration, yet the enforcement taken by each teacher ranges. What doesn’t range, is the group targeted.
Throughout all my years at KHS, I’ve never seen a boy get called out in front of his class for violating the dress code. Now boys might not be wearing as many crop tops as girls, but there are plenty of other ways they can be dress-coded. I can’t explain how many times I’ve walked down the hallway to see someone’s pants nearly falling down with each step they take. Frankly, I don’t want to explain it to you; it’s not a very pleasant sight to see. But why is it that a boy can walk around with his underwear out for the world to see but I can’t expose my upper leg on a hot August day? You would think more boys would get in trouble for this, as #4 of the KHS Dress Code states how sagging pants are not permitted. It’s something so specific yet slides by every time.
Maybe teachers are trying to avoid awkward situations, but maybe it’s something more sinister. The real root cause is the constant sexualization of the most arbitrary parts of a woman’s body.
Let’s talk about tank tops. For such a simplistic article of clothing, their high ability for and a boy. For the dude, his shoulders may be eye-catching but that is because he is strong. How else could he hide his arms? For the girl, her top looks too tight. She’s trying to show off and she needs to cover up. The boy and the girl look different. Their tank tops look the same, but the way it shows off their bodies differ. One is sexualized and the other is not.
KHS emphasizes creating a safe environment within the school. How am I supposed to feel comfortable when I know I am a target for sexualization? Here’s the answer: I am not. I usually wear long sweatpants or leggings and an old oversized hoodie to school, even on hot days. I hate questioning my outfit 24/7 when I’m not in that usual attire.
Our current dress code makes some valid points. It stresses that one’s appearance should not bring attention away from the class. But who’s to judge? After all, everyone interprets the dress code differently. Some people even think American Eagle tiny tops are ugly. How weird is that?
