Obidi 1

Ibukun Obidi
Ms. Corrigan
ENG4U1
18 December 2015
In Good Taste
The HWDSBs student dress code policy claims that it has been created in
the interest of safety, health, and good taste. Although I do not see a
problem with the mission statement itself, I think schools opinions of what is
good taste has being taken to new levels. Schools are beginning to define
what looks appropriate in public. Without pointing fingers at schools only in
the Hamilton District, there have been cases across all of North America
where students are sent home from school because of their revealing
shoulders, collarbones, ripped jeans, tight pants, and lace sleeved shirts.
There are many points about why the ministrys dress code policy needs to
be strictly enforced and although many of these points may be valid, I think
motives behind them are questionable. I feel that the delivery of and reasons
behind the enforcement of schools dress codes support gender bias, the
sexualization of females, and the stigma that comes with how females
choose to dress.
Although the dress code is intended to address all students, it has
become a gender biased set of rules that have been directed towards the
way female students choose to dress. At the elementary school I attended,
there was the three finger rule where girls were not allowed to wear straps
that were thinner than the width of three fingers. I remember many

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incidences were my female classmates were left feeling embarrassed and
uncomfortable throughout the day because even though it was 27 degrees
outside, they were forced to wear a sweater from the lost-and-found because
their straps were inappropriate. My school was very strict with this dress
code policy but funny enough, boys wearing muscles shirts (which often did
not pass the three finger rule) never seemed to be guilty of violating this
policy. That was about five years ago but even now, the same message
directed towards the same group of people continues to be sent. My high
school makes the same annual spring announcement, now that the warm
weather is approaching, ladies are reminded to keep clothing in good
taste. I think you may begin to see why all my life I thought that the dress
code policy was written only for female students. I think its fair to say that if
a rule is put in place and is meant to be in the best interest of everyone, it
should in fact, apply to everyone. Dress codes are clearly directed towards
female students. And for what reason? For the sake of the heterosexual
male.
Parents, imagine your son being sent home from school, missing all his
classes for the day because he is wearing a t-shirt that reveals his arms and
his muscles were distracting to a girl in his class. That sounds ridiculous
doesnt it? And yet girls are sent home from schools simply because theyre
not wearing tights under their skirts. One might argue that wearing revealing
clothing that shows the navel or midriff is inappropriate, but I dont think the
problem is defining what is or isnt inappropriate. The problem is why these

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things are considered inappropriate. The dress code policy has not been set
up in favour of female students. Its not to enforce good morals on the girl,
its not to protect the girl from being objectified, its so the boys can benefit
from a learning environment with no distractions. If a girl re-evaluates what
shes wearing and considers dressing in good taste, she has just begun to
self-objectify herself because those are the ideas that have been normalized
and enforced in schools. There should be no distraction when it comes to a
females body. Girls bodies should not be considered as sexual objects and if
someone cannot concentrate in class because of a female students body,
that sounds like their problem.
Teachers at school and parents in their homes are always encouraging
their children to take responsibility of their own actions. But somehow, it has
become the girls responsibility to dress in good taste so that she doesnt
influence the thoughts of her male peers. Although this is a much bigger
topic, I find that some of the defenses used to support the reasons for strict
dress codes are mirroring the defenses used behind rape culture. According
to the Sexual Assault and Rape Statistics Canada, only 6% of sexual assaults
go reported. One of the reasons behind this statistic is that there is the
stigma that females who dress a certain way are asking for it. Whichever it
may be in the situation, the way a female dresses should never grant her
unwanted attention from anyone and this is a message that I dont think the
HWDSB is supporting though their dress code policies does.

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The issue isnt the rules, its the motive behind them and how theyre
enforced. I think its time we put the boys will be boys phrase to rest and
stop using that as an excuse to police what female students wear. I feel that
the dress codes message definitely encourages gender stereotypes. I think if
there is going to be rules set in place to monitor what students wear; they
shouldnt be strictly enforced on one group of people and completely lenient
for another. This is not about defining what is inappropriate or indecent, I
think its about how schools are searching for ways to accuse females of
being inappropriate or indecent. Students should dress how they feel is
comfortable for them and not feel self-conscious about the fact that their
body is a distraction. A respectable, healthy, safe, learning environment will
come from students feeling in control of how they present themselves. I think
that is in good taste.

Word Count: 951

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Works Cited
"APPROPRIATE DRESS Information for Parents and Students." APPROPRIATE
DRESS (n.d.): n.
pag. Www.hwdsb.on.ca. HWDSB. Web. 17 Dec. 2015.
"Sexual Assault Statistics in Canada." Sexual Assault and Rape Statistics,
Canada. N.p., n.d. Web.
17 Dec. 2015.