Let me first start by defining dress code. A dress code is an expectation of dress applied to all students in all situations. Violations of this dress code have a known and consistent set of consequences. For example, at my daughters’ junior high school, students are expected to wear shorts and skirts no shorter than six inches above the knee. Pants of both boys and girls are to be worn at the waist/ hips (rather than sagging). Shirts must not have any inappropriate, obscene or offensive images or language (this can be a gray area, but generally is understood by most students). Shirts and dresses must have straps a minimum of two finger-widths. Clothing may not be see-through. Students may not wear pajamas to school, and may not have visible undergarments. Hats and sunglasses may not be worn in the building. I believe this is a very reasonable, and fairly standard, dress code.
1. School dress codes teach students that there is a time and a place for different types of dress.
This is perhaps the number one argument for a school dress code. I recently saw a young woman wearing a bikini in the grocery store. Customers stopped to stare at her, and a few snapped pictures on their cell phones. Store management asked the young lady to leave the store and come back when she had put on some more clothing. This was not discriminatory, as the store has a “no shirt, no shoes, no service” policy and a man dressed in similar beachwear would have been asked to put on a shirt or leave as well. The young lady, while perfectly attired for the beach or the pool, where she would not have created any sensation at all, was shockingly underdressed for most other public places.
Similarly, a man or woman working in an office is expected to dress professionally. I have worked in several office settings and have seen my co-workers addressed for failing to meet standards of professional dress. Some were dressed too casually, in a t-shirt and jeans, some were dressed too provocatively, in skin tight pants with a visible thong and low-cut blouse. Both of these examples may have been perfectly appropriate at home or for a night out on the town, but were grossly inappropriate in a professional environment.
Why should our schools be any different? Students need to learn that there are societal expectations for appropriate dress, language, and behavior in different situations. What one wears to sleep in, one does not wear to a job interview. What one might wear to the beach is inappropriate in a classroom. The job of schools is to prepare students to live and work in the real world. Schools ought not to be simply a social club, but rather a setting for intense academics, and intellectual and social development. Teenagers ought to see themselves, and be treated as, professional students. School is their job. They are investing in their futures, so that one day they will be prepared for college and/ or the work place—learning appropriate dress is a vital part of that preparation.
2. School dress codes help to reduce distractions in the classroom.
As a junior high and high school teacher, I can tell you that teachers and students are fighting a never ending battle against distractions both in and out of the classroom. Students are distracted by their peers and their peers’ clothing. Adolescents are worried about their own appearance and are constantly comparing themselves to others. Teachers have to compete with cell phones, iPods, raging hormones, personal drama, and sleepy and hungry kids, among other things. When students are allowed to wear clothing that is offensive or distracting, the problem is amplified.
Distracting and inappropriate clothing may even contribute to discipline issues. In her blog post, “Dress Code Or Not, What You Wear Matters,” Eva Rykrsmith cites a study from the Evolution and Human Behavior Journal. In this study, behavior at a roller rink was observed on both nights with a strict dress code and nights without. The study noted that on nights with a strict dress code there were less accidents and less noise. The scientists concluded that individuals change their behavior in accordance with their clothing. http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2012/05/23/dress-code-or-not-what-you-wear-matters/
Like it or not, boys are distracted by the dress of their female classmates. This has nothing to do with males not respecting females, as has been the popular accusation. The biological reality is that teenage boys are attracted to the opposite sex and are preoccupied with sexuality. It is also a well-known biological fact that men are visual creatures.
Girls can also be distracted by their provocatively dressed peers. I have been one of those girls, and my 7th grade daughter is one of those girls. Women and girls dress as much for each other as they do for themselves and boys/ men. Even as a teacher, it can be difficult to not be distracted by how some of my students are dressed. The same holds true for young men who choose to sag their pants, or anyone who wears an obscene or offensive t-shirt. All of these things are distracting from the true purpose of school—learning—not self-expression, not popularity, not anything else.
3. School dress codes help both boys and girls to respect themselves and each other.
One of the most prominent arguments against school dress codes is that it unfairly targets girls and denies them self-expression, or teaches them to be ashamed of their bodies. I disagree 100%!
First, while some dress codes may be unevenly applied, that is not a reason to discount the dress code itself. Dress codes ought to be re-written to apply to both genders and ought to be applied objectively and consistently. The dress code at my daughter’s school does just that. It does not discriminate based on gender and it is evenly and consistently applied.
Second, while self-expression is important, there is a time and a place. Teenagers need to learn that. So much of their world, from celebrities to social media has become about the glorification of the self. They are inundated with images of Miley Cyrus twerking and flouting conventions left and right, celebrity nude photo leaks and the open book that is social media. Teenagers often are confused about what is in fact appropriate. They struggle with setting, maintaining, and respecting boundaries. They need to learn that the real world is not like Hollywood or Facebook or Instagram. In the real world, few people care how wonderful you think you are or even, sadly, about your opinion on real issues. In the real world, there are consequences to baring it all metaphorically or in actuality.
Third, dress codes do not teach girls to be ashamed of their bodies. They teach girls that their bodies are their property and ought to be respected and revered. I believe that allowing young women to dress provocatively exacerbates existing gender inequality and creates self-esteem issues. Many girls do not dress provocatively for a variety of reasons. Perhaps their parents do not allow them to dress provocatively, maybe they lack the body confidence to flaunt themselves, or possibly they simply do not want to. Young women often feel a tremendous amount of pressure to fit in with their peers and to gain attention from boys. They may feel pressured to dress a certain way to fit the norms of dress established by their peers. This pressure may cause girls to disobey their parents, compromise their own standards, or to feel ashamed of their body because how they look in a skimpy skirt is very different from how some of their peers look in skimpy skirts.
Particularly during adolescence, the type of clothing an individual wears has a definite effect on self-esteem and perceptions of self. According to another study cited by Rykrsmith, how an individual dresses may also affect their performance. The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology measured student performance while wearing the same white coat. Half of the students were told it was a doctor’s coat, and half were told it was a painter’s coat. The half that believed they were wearing a doctor’s coat showed higher levels of attention than those who believed they were wearing a painter’s coat. http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2012/05/23/dress-code-or-not-what-you-wear-matters/
As far as gender equality and respect, allowing young women to display themselves like merchandise in the hallowed halls of a school building only reinforces the misconceptions that many may already have—that young women are not in school to learn, but to find a boyfriend or get attention. How are we to teach young men to respect young women when they are being bombarded with these types of mixed messages? While I certainly do not condone the objectification of their female classmates nor do I think clothing alone is the reason for this, it is an aspect of this ugly reality.
Reasonable and fair dress codes are an essential aspect of a productive school environment. A study published by Jimmy Creel and Angela Stallings of Sam Houston State University’s Center for Research and Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership attempted to measure the effects of a school dress code on student achievement. While Creel and Stallings concluded that the dress code did not have an immediate significant impact on student achievement, Stallings did note that, "It is possible, based on our findings, that the benefits of a standardized dress code implemented and maintained over time may very well have a positive effect on student achievement.” Furthermore, Creel stated that there were other benefits, such as, "improved campus morale and reduced discipline violations, increased school pride, improved collaboration and teamwork among students . . . [and] enhanced image of students and the school in the community, minimization of the effects of economic variations among students, and reduction in the overall cost of student wardrobes." http://www.shsu.edu/~pin_www/T@S/2001/DressCode.html
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