Editorial: Restricted: Student dress code policies are biased against girls

Staff Editorial

Alief ISD has restrictions on what students can wear due to the fact that it supposedly distracts other students and staff in school, which is not the case “I think it’s unfair and outdated, I come to school in a sweater everyday to prevent them trying to say I’m out of dress code,” said Junior, JaDymond Armstrong.

The Texas Tribune reports that ACLU is asking nearly 500 school districts across the state to revise dress code policies that it says are “unconstitutional and discriminatory.” Race-based discrimination is still forced upon many dress code policies, where black students are not allowed to wear their natural hair.

“Dress code is unnecessary, we should be able to wear whatever we want without ‘distracting’ others.” said Freshman, Angelina Melchor.

A recent article in the New York Times stated that a 2020 study found most dress codes that were analyzed targeted female clothing choices more often than male ones. Certain clothing had been prohibited simply because it was seen as “sexy”.

How is dress code more important than a student’s education? They take valuable learning time away from students because a shoulder is showing, or because they’re shorts are “too short.” Administrators pick and choose who they do and don’t dress code. They target students that have a curvier body figure rather than those who appear more petite.

Boys walk around the hallways sagging their pants, will wear muscle shirts, wear really short shorts, and don’t get told anything about it. Why? Because the administrators seem to identify dress code violations more readily in girls.

“Do my shoulders provoke you? Does my chest? Am I my stomach? My hips? The body I was born with?”- Billie Eilish