Dress Codes: Rules Or Forced Modesty?

“On your knees,” Mrs. Gerber was both demanding and ruthless as she spoke. I was 10-years-old, in 5^th grade, and my skirt was too short. I was excited about my transition from 4^th grade to 5^th grade because this change meant a new uniform. The younger girls were forced to wear checkered jumper dresses, but my time had come, I was finally allowed to wear a skirt. Of course, my big girl skirt did not come without drama. After almost a week of wearing my new uniform, my 5^th grade teacher took me aside and told me that my skirt was too short. I was embarrassed. I was a goody two-shoes kind of student and never got into trouble. Mrs. Gerber forced me to kneel so she could measure the distance between my skirt and the ground. To this day, 11 years later, I vividly remember the embarrassment I felt as my peers walked past me. As I shamefully knelt on the ground, Mrs. Gerber stood over me, her ruler in her hand.

However, my incident with Mrs. Gerber is not an isolated case. Just last week, Amanda Durbin, a senior at Edmonson County High School in Kentucky, was forced to kneel so that a male principle could measure an outfit that her school’s dress code deemed inappropriate. In order to check if she was actually violating the dress code, the 17-year-old was told that she had to get onto her knees in order measure the distance between her dress and the ground. Her sweater dress fell 5 inches above her knees—a length deemed acceptable by the dress code. She was then told to raise her arms causing her dress to rise 3 more inches. With her arms raised, her dress fell 8 inches above the ground—a clear violation of Edmonson’s dress code. However, Durbin donned leggings underneath her sweater dress to ensure that her legs would not be exposed. Despite this, the teenager was still sent home because her dress was too short. Likewise, when told that she had to kneel, Durbin refused to do so until her parents could be present. Rather than allowing her to continue her school day until her parents arrived, she was forced to wait in the principle’s office during multiple class periods. Not only was Durbin shamed for the already modest dress she was wearing, but she was also forced to miss almost an entire day of school just to be told that she had to go home.

Amanda Durbin’s dress code violation is much more than a teenager simply wearing a short dress. Situations like this have become much more frequent, and they are attracting necessary attention due to this frequency. But why? Why does a school’s dress code even matter? Of course it is easy to tell a teenager, “Follow the rules, and you will be fine.” However, these rules create a dichotomy of what is expected of female and male students. The rules enforced by many dress codes across the nation are much different for males than the rules enforced upon females. Male students are expected to look groomed while female students are expected to look modest. While one gender is expected to simply look presentable, another is expected to avoid ostentation in hopes of preventing sexual arousal. In Amanda Durbin’s situation, the 17-year-old was forced into both a literal and figurative position of submission. On a literal level, she was forced to get onto her knees—an allusion to a sexual act in which one partner remains in a power position over another. Of course, there was no sexual encounter in this case, but the implication of Durbin’s position is still cause for concern. Likewise, before being sent home, the teenager missed multiple classes while waiting for her parents. Although at school, Durbin was unable to learn for that school day—a clear indication that the school’s administration prioritizes forced modesty over a student’s education.

For female students, a dress code serves as a guide to prevent unnecessary sexual attention. It is the possibility that a female student’s cleavage or legs could distract her peers, or it is the possibility that she may raise her arms and her dress will rise. However, it is the certain presumption that a female’s anatomy will be so distracting to her peers that keeping her covered up takes precedence over her education. In the case of female students, too often are they viewed as objects rather than students. Students are sent to school to learn, and while dressing appropriately is important, what and how the students learn should be top priority.

By Celine Aguilar