by Erica Rabito
Woburn High has recently reiterated and clarified the dress
code guidelines for its students to follow, and it has been highly discussed
among students and faculty alike. Its many new rules include the banning of
tank tops, shorts or skirts higher than mid-thigh, pajama pants, and, among
many other articles of clothing, ones “that cause undue attention to be called
to the wearer.”
Although
some outfits, such as those that promote drug use or those that are purposely
offensive to others should certainly be frowned upon in schools, it seems
unfair and oppressive to limit what a student can otherwise wear to school.
Clothes,
besides their obvious purpose, serve as a way for people to express themselves,
and as a way for them to be comfortable in their own skin. If someone feels
comfortable in a turtleneck and jeans, that is what they feel comfortable in,
and that is ok. If someone feels comfortable in a miniskirt and a tank top,
that is what they feel comfortable in, and that is ok. A person’s body does not
need to be over-sexualized to the point of banning shorter shorts and skirts,
and the person who is doing the over-sexualizing needs to be punished instead
of the victim. Teens and people in general are very often uncomfortable about
their appearances to begin with, and telling them that yet another thing about
their appearance is wrong can only do more damage to their already fragile
self-esteem.
In
addition to the harm that can be caused by limiting the clothes a person can
wear, the restricted items of clothing are very clearly stated (and it is also
clearly stated that these are not the limits of possible restrictions), but the
reasons they are needed are not as clearly defined. “Because of health, safety
and other reasons,” are what is given as an explanation, but it is difficult to
see how either health or safety can be affected by what a person chooses to put
on their bodies.
Safety
is the point that is the most troubling out of the two. Is the safety of the
school the one in question, or is it that of the student wearing the banned
clothes? If it is indeed the safety of the student that is in question, the method
of dealing with this safety issue needs to be changed. Instead of telling a
student to change what he or she is wearing to protect themselves, tell
whomever that is going to harm them that it is not acceptable to do so. Punish
the aggressor, not the victim.
All
and all, as stated in the list of banned clothing, “The clothes you wear make a
statement about you.” Clothes are usually not chosen to offend, to disgust, or
to provoke other people. They are chosen by the wearer as an expression of who
they are, and how they want to be seen by the world. The way others view and
judge what people choose to wear needs to be questioned, not whether or not the
clothes are “inappropriate”.
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