Many students have experienced the sexist dress code here at Elkins High School in West Virginia that hundreds of thousands of teens experience worldwide. We are constantly told that something as simple as our shoulders or an inch of our stomachs distract the boys' education. Then we are removed from the classroom, told to go home and change, which affects our education.

Why is my education less important than that of a boy? Why is the dress code requirements for boys half the length of the girls? The system we live in is sexist; we are taught to cover up instead of boys being taught to respect women.

At East Longmeadow High School, Massachusetts, six out of the nine dress code regulations targeted female students. At JCSP, 60% of the interaction for dress codes were girls. These are only a couple of examples, but there are hundreds more!

Not only does the dress code sexualize girls, but it criminalizes boys! This is our generation, and we need to fix it. We want to express ourselves and wear what makes us feel confident. We want girls to stop feeling like they're objects and boys to stop feeling like they're being blamed for it.

Bra straps shouldn't be an issue, crop tops shouldn't be an issue, shoulders showing or no bras should not be an issue. 

With 100 signatures, we can reach the principle; 1000 signatures, we can reach the board of education, 20,000, and we can reach the governor of WV, Jim Justice!

Fight for our rights, fight for our bodies, fight for our generation.