In the June 17 letter, “Protest aimed to uncover inequity,” Emilee Roberts, a middle school student, says she is “protesting that the dress code is unfair to the girls as the boys don’t get dress codes.” No dress codes for boys? I went to the school’s website. The dress code is on page A4 (http://gaiser.vansd.org/students/GaiserStudentHandbook.pdf). There is no distinction between male and female students. So, it seems the boys do have a dress code, and it’s the same one the girls have.
Roberts also says “I don’t think my bra strap, shoulder, belly button, back, or legs are going to distract any male student or faculty. This dress code is telling us girls to cover up so they don’t distract any males because ‘boys will be boys.”
I agree that this would be archaic and sexist reasoning, but there is nothing saying the policies have anything to do with “males” and “boys.” Who told her the dress code is “because you would be a distraction to males?”
Boys are also prohibited from showing their shoulders, belly buttons, backs and legs. So when she says, “It’s hot outside; girls are gonna wear shorts and tank tops,” well, then so are the boys, except they likewise aren’t allowed to.
There will, unfortunately, be many times in life females will encounter sexism, but this school dress code isn’t one of them.
