My Two Cents: Dress Code

Julia Said

You never asked for my two cents on the school’s dress code, but when do I ever hold my opinions back?

The issue of the dress code stems from a much larger issue, which I first need to discuss. In Alyssa Farrell’s, staff contributor, Nov. 29 article entitled, “There’s nothing more sensual than making it consensual,” she addresses rape culture. Because, as much as I want to hate on the school for their dress code, which I will, I should be focusing more of my anger on the big “R” word: rape.

No one is “asking for it.” No drink is too strong, no skirt is too short, no shirt is too low cut.

There is no reason to be sexualizing a woman’s body or even a man’s body. We all have feelings and personalities. We are all made up of skin, bones, and blood. We are real people, not objects meant for sexualizing and demeaning.

So here is where I get mad at the school. Why is it okay for the school to sexualize even just our shoulders? If my shoulders are too distracting for the boy in my science class, reprimand that boy, not me. Reprimand him for turning my body into an object, instead of reprimanding me for being “detrimental to his learning.”

There’s a fine line. I get that. No, I do not want to see any girl’s buttcheeks or major cleavage. Quite honestly, it’s just not classy for a school setting. I understand it’s hard to determine which skirt is too short or which shirt is too low cut because the gray area is huge, but objectifying people is black and white.

We can’t make rules based on inches of inseam or width of straps. If that rule worked, my 5’2” frame would be required to wear shorts that hit me a couple of inches above my knee. The solution shouldn’t be requiring students to memorize a page in their student handbook that dictates student dress code. Society should be raising boys to respect girls.

The first step to fixing this problem is admitting the problem exists…and the problem is not the length of her skirt.