By Sydney Stokke
As summer approaches, students will begin to dress for the weather, which may cause unnecessary problems in regards to dress code.
Between two-finger-width tank tops and arm-length skirts and shorts, the high school dress code has always been a factor that sets boys and girls apart in school.
While boys often dress in knee-length shorts and t-shirts, girls tend to wear shorter shorts, skirts, and tank-tops or crop tops. Everyone has their own different styles and it’s unfair and unnecessary that one gender should get in trouble for it while the other doesn’t.
“[The dress code] isn’t as strict for boys as it is for girls,” said Batavia sophomore Kelly Harrington. “Girls should have less rules to be more equal with boys.”
While some would argue that allowing girls to dress in more revealing clothes will distract boys from learning, they should keep in mind that it’s not a girl’s job to make sure that boys do well in school. They are not at fault when boys can’t focus. But then again, why are boys getting distracted by girls’ shoulders or a few inches of their thighs in the first place? This issue shows how girls as young as 14 are being objectified; not only by boys their own age, but by the administrators who enforce the dress code as well.
“The boys should learn to focus. It’s not any of their business what the girls are wearing,” said another Batavia student, Sara Prier.
It’s ridiculous that girls are being blamed for wearing what they want because boys are being “distracted”.
Because it’s beginning to get warmer as summer approaches, it’s only logical that students begin to dress appropriately for the weather. However, some people may argue that these students, who are mainly girls, are actually being inappropriate because they aren’t being “modest” in their dress. Even though these dress code regulations may seem reasonable to the ones enforcing them, the students themselves disagree. There’s nothing wrong with wearing clothes that expose nothing more than a few inches of a girl’s shoulders, legs, back, etc.
“Girls have harsher dress code rules than boys. I haven’t ever heard of a boy being dress coded,” said Prier. “[The code] needs to be less strict.”
In order to make up for the dress code gender bias, the school needs to balance out the rules so girls won’t get in trouble for dressing in “distracting” clothing. Clearly, students shouldn’t be allowed to come to school naked; but unnecessary rules should be thrown out, like the two-finger straps and arm-length pants rules.