“Dress for success”, a veil to hide sexist beliefs. The amount of times I’ve heard this at Greenfield High School and at my previous middle school has left me perplexed. “You’ll need to follow a dress code in the future”, never taking into consideration that we are the future. 

The dress code currently up on the school website states “

• Any clothing that is too loose or too small… or that are too revealing. 
•  See-through or fishnet fabrics, halter tops, off-the-shoulder or low-cut tops, spaghetti straps, tank tops, skirts or shorts which are shorter than mid-thigh, or anything that would expose the bare midriff
• Students not following the dress code will be asked to change inappropriate clothing, or they may be sent home to change”

These sections specifically target feminine presenting people. The seven garments that are listed in the second bullet point are all worn by feminine presenting students, this is an issue of gender discrimination. 

When feminine presenting students are dress coded they are pulled out of class or stopped in the hallway, taken to the office and are sexualized and degraded while male presenting students continue learning. This is subconsciously teaching students that male presenting student’s education is more important than feminine presenting students’. Not only does this hurt feminine presenting students, but it portrays male presenting students as nothing more than visual creatures. It paints male presenting students as nothing but animals who can't control themselves. When they are the complete opposite, male presenting people are very much human and should not be reduced to visual creatures. This issue isn't just a female issue, it's an issue that paints males as the villain. 

Male presenting students are constantly seen sagging, sometimes showing an excessive amount of their buttocks, while feminine presenting students aren’t even allowed to go above fingertip length. Feminine presenting students are currently being dress coded as well for having rips above fingertip length, though that isn’t in the dress code. It’s also come to students' attention that female presenting teachers are allowed to wear spaghetti straps and tank tops although deemed inappropriate by the school. 

Feminine presenting students have described the dress code as “stupid”, “sexist”, “unfair”, “humiliating”, and “objectifying”. Humiliation is not education. Feminine presenting students are comfortable in their bodies and that isn’t sitting well with the patriarchal dress code. Help GHS students abolish the sexist dress code currently in place. 

“So once again, society has failed to advocate young ladies, by confining them in a box, where they are stripped from their sense of self-respect and self-expression.” ~Rose Lynn

#NotADistraction