Envision this: You’re a female student at South walking to your sixth hour with an important lecture today. Glancing up at one of the digital clocks in the hallway, you notice you have thirty seconds left before the bell rings, so you pick up the pace a little.
You’re almost to class when an administration member stops and informs you that the bottom of your t-shirt is not meeting the the top of your jeans. “It’s literally less than an inch of skin,” you mumble under your breath as you look down at your shirt, careful not to be loud enough for anyone to hear. The bell rings and you sigh.
The member of administration pulls you into their office and hands you a bulky t-shirt that is sure to conceal your figure. You want so badly to scream, “This is so stupid! Do you really think it’s acceptable for me to miss class for this?” but all you can do is mutter the words, “I’m sorry.” Moving quickly to your sixth hour, everyone looks at you confused as to why your outfit looks so ridiculous. You can’t help but wonder if anything like this happens to men.
I understand that rules surrounding inappropriate and offensive clothing are in place for a reason; this is not what I have a bone to pick with. My problem is with rules within the dress code that disproportionately affect young women at South. I have witnessed, several times, men at South who don’t button a single hole on their button-up shirt, leaving the entirety of their mid-drift and chest exposed. Yet they wore similar outfits multiple times throughout the year and were not penalized.
Yet, I hear AT LEAST once a week a story of a girl who wore straps too thin, a shirt cut too low at the top, or too high at the bottom. The rule in the student handbook states, “Students are expected to wear clothing that adequately covers the chest, back and mid-section”. What they actually mean by “students”, is “female students”, right? I find the enforcement of this rule to be highly discriminatory.
I cannot think of a single way in which too much of a girl’s shoulders or mid-drift could “interfere with and/or disrupt the educational process.” Unless what the handbook is implying is that girls should cover up so that boys aren’t distracted, which would be entirely sexist and infuriating. What is actually interfering with and disrupting the educational process is the dress code itself.
School is a place to learn. That’s the bottom line. We are all here to receive an education, and some of us, to prepare for college. The fact that the learning process here at the South is so often disrupted for instances of minor dress code violations is very counterproductive. The irony in the statement in the school handbook that reads “The Grosse Pointe Public Schools dress code allows for comfort, individuality and choice as long as such clothing and manner of dress does not interfere with and/or disrupt the educational process,” is shocking.
