As a Senior at Thomas A Edison, I’ve heard about people getting dress coded and even experienced it myself. In 2018, during my freshman year I was dress coded because my shoulders were showing. What’s so wrong with someone showing their shoulders? 

I have talked to many of my peers who all agree that the school’s dress code is very harsh on female students. We were not allowed to wear anything remotely revealing without being sent down to the dean’s office and asked to change into the edison gym apparel. So what has changed? 

Every day at school since the weather has been getting warm, I’ve seen girls wearing short dresses, crop tops, bralettes, and other clothing that is normally frowned upon in school. Why, two years ago when we used to dress like this, were we forced to change and cover up, but now people can wear whatever they want? 

I spoke to multiple people in my lunch period and they each gave me their opinion about it. One response that stood out to me was that the only reason they don’t say anything anymore is because they aren’t allowed to. After the pandemic it has become a big issue where students felt like they could not express themselves. A lot of people learned how to do so over quarantine and if they are told that they can’t wear something it would feel like they were being suppressed. 

Have you ever wondered why the dress code was ever so strict? The main answer we get would be because it is simply inappropriate and can cause distractions for other students. A lot of people seem to think that it is because people have learned to sexualize young girls’ bodies which is unfair. Female students shouldn’t have to cover up just because someone may be looking at her the wrong way. It should never have gotten to that point. 

As young women, we do have to understand that we do not live in a perfect world. There will always be older men looking at us the wrong way. It is the sad truth, but in school we should be able to feel safe without being judged.