Monthly Bulletin: Dress Code Sexism
Definitions:
History of Dress Codes:
School dress codes have their origins in English private schools but only recently became common in American public schools. Primarily due to favorable economic conditions in the 1950s and 1960s leading to an increase in disposable income, clothing designers and marketers began to target a generation of fashion-conscious students. Combined with the social upheaval of the 1960s, student grooming and dress began to challenge traditional educational expectations. Student dress became a means of individual and political expression. Consequently, educational policymakers devised dress policies, or dress codes, to impose their values upon an increasingly diverse student population. Student dress received national attention in 1969 when the U.S. Supreme Court granted students the broad First Amendment right to freedom of expression. In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Court considered whether a school policy banning the wearing of armbands by students in protest of the Vietnam War violated the students’ freedom of expression. Noting that the school officials had no evidence that the wearing of the armbands was potentially disruptive or would substantially interfere with the educational process, the Court held that because the circumstances of the case were close to “pure speech,” the students were entitled to First Amendment protection.
Largely due to Tinker and subsequent court decisions, school district dress guidelines began to consider students’ expression rights. Subsequently, dress code litigation has been influenced by two other student speech cases. The first, Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser (1986), centered on a speech that the plaintiff delivered to the student body. The speech included a graphic, explicit sexual metaphor, and as a consequence, the student was disciplined. Although the Court affirmed that students had the right to advocate unpopular viewpoints, the Court noted that the expression of those views might be balanced against reasonable standards of civil conduct as established by the school district. In essence, the Fraser standard evidences that student speech may be restricted if it is lewd, offensive, or inappropriate in the school setting. The second influential case, Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988), involved the publication of a high school student newspaper. The Supreme Court held that the school newspaper was not a public forum and as such did not receive the same pure speech protection as did the armbands in Tinker. In essence, the Court modified the Tinker standard, noting that if the speech would materially disrupt class work or invade the rights of others, then the school could impose reasonable constraints over the speech. Accordingly, the Hazelwood standard establishes that school officials may restrain student speech if there is a legitimate pedagogical reason to do so. (from http://usedulaw.com/257-dress-codes.html)
Articles:
- The American Civil Liberties Union on the constitutionality of dress codes: https://acluvt.org/pubs/students_rights/dress.php
- The history of dress codes at a private school in Washington, DC: http://www.sidwell.edu/photos/index.aspx?ModuleID=692&LinkID=3527
- The general structure of a dress code: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/06/12/321268424/the-anatomy-of-a-dress-code
- Dress codes targeting young women: https://www.thenation.com/article/targeting-slutty-students/
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/14/opinion/the-battle-over-dress-codes.html?_r=1 à I like the paragraph about how sexism messes with psychology of young girls
- Dress code checks: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/beaconsfield-school-sends-teen-home-for-too-short-shorts-1.2659465
- Misconceptions about the dress code: http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/12/school-dress-code-myths/
- Black girls getting in trouble for natural hair:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2513893/Florida-girl-threatened-expulsion-afro-hair.html
- Transgender students and school uniforms (based off of UK students)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/why-i-advised-brighton-college-over-its-trans-uniforms-all-schoo/
Videos:
- Real impact of dress codes (Mic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIIGCmjw538
- Dress code protests (Young Turks): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaHNElC4DgI
- Dress code sexism (Laci Green): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41J4XBjgOrw
- Braless protest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upD_UM67EzY
- Muslim girls sent home for long skirts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjGNQNJBKCM
- Black girls getting in trouble for natural hair:
http://madamenoire.com/327143/another-day-another-natural-hair-ban-vanessa-vandyke-asked-cut-afro-expelled/
http://hellobeautiful.com/2014/11/07/teacher-cuts-off-students-hair/
Statistics:
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Questions To Ponder:
- What is the dress code like at your school? Do you think it is fair?
- How do dress codes unfairly target young women?
- In what ways do dress codes reinforce stereotypes and rape culture?
- What other groups of people are negatively affected by dress codes? How does it affect them?
- How is the issue of free speech related to dress codes?
- How can school administrators make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable?
- If you could make a dress code, what would it look like?
- Are dress codes necessary?
- Is there a correlation between the gender gap in STEM courses in high schools and school uniform? What is the correlation?
Activities and Resources:
- Writing, reading and discussion activities from the Anti-Defamation League: http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/education-outreach/student-dress-codes-what-s-fair.pdf
- Is your dress code sexist? Questions: http://jezebel.com/is-your-dress-code-sexist-a-guide-1586233366