DRESS CODES: ENCOURAGING STUDIES OR ENCOURAGING SEXISM? By Freiya Dress codes, at first, they seem like a great idea for teachers; they encourage discipline in children’s mindsets, discourage bullying in the classrooms and can help identify intruders in school if they are wearing something outrageously different. However, dress codes over the years seem to have morphed into yet another way to oppress girls and can pressure them into covering up for the benefit of men. The definition of dress code is ‘a set of rules, often written, with regards to what clothing groups of people must wear’. Why, then, are dress codes usually aimed at girls? The simple answer is sexism. Sexism is the “prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex” and this is clearly displayed in dress codes not just all over England, but worldwide. The fact that dress codes often seem to be aimed at adolescent girls is not unknown to those who must conform to them, so why can they be bad?
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THE CHRONICLE
2021/2022
