Evangeline Swanson

T. Eberhardt
Eng. 100
10/30/2017

School Uniforms as an Unequal Equalizer

In seventh grade I was confronted by an adult monitor because I had chosen to wear shorts in

May. In front of dozens of my classmates, he held a tape measure against my leg to ensure I was within

the school’s dress code. This occurred in a time where the vast majority of young girls, myself included,

struggle with body issues and peer acceptance. A period of time where any mild social embarrassment

can lead to exclusion and bullying by the school at large. This introduction to the structured rules that

dictate how a student may or may not dress did not set a positive impression in my mind. As I grew

older the rules grew more varied and complex, while their enforcement has tottered unpredictably

between authoritarian and nonexistent. In a modern learning environment, school dress codes are

discriminatory, illogical and do not even achieve their perceived goals.

On the surface dress codes may seem something of a trivial issue by those who have long since

matriculated from public education, their enforcement and use serves to create a framework that

regulates the structure of most of a child’s expression for a large portion of their lives. In the hormonal

primordial soup of adolescent education, students learn social skills and peer-interaction alongside

taught subjects and how students are allowed to present themselves governs some facet of these

interactions.

The contemporary trend of school dress codes began in earnest after receiving the endorsement

of former president Bill Clinton during his 1996 State of the Union address. At the time he mentioned

potential positive effects of implementing dress codes, such as reduced bullying or student conflict

driven by what should be superficial differences (Boutelle). In the years since his endorsement, school

dress codes have become exceedingly commonplace although their downsides are just starting to

become apparent.
Evangeline Swanson
T. Eberhardt
Eng. 100
10/30/2017

Proponents of dress codes may point to my experience with bullying as a reason for tighter

dress codes or even mandated uniforms. As students that are dressed identically have fewer differences

that may be picked apart by adolescent hostility. Students from less wealthy families could theoretically

face less discrimination for their manner of dress that may not line up with the current expensive

fashions. However, these theories could not be further from the truth. While students may, on paper, be

dressed the same human individuality is always able to assert itself. Slight modifications or alterations to

a uniform or dress approved clothing will always allow those who wish to differentiate themselves from

the student body at large. This principle is easily demonstrated even by schools which only adhere to a

dress code rather than a uniform policy. Individuals at the top of the school popularity hierarchy dress

demonstrably different from the average student, be it through the addition of small accessories or

expensive versions of commonly worn clothing.

Compounding this problem is that due to the cultural and generational divide between students

and their educators even well-meaning policies may prove ineffective. As trends change with every new

group of new students, even good intentioned school administrators will struggle to create rules that

are practical to achieving their goals that do not also require changing every few years. Even worse,

oftentimes the differences that separate a “trendy” student from one that may struggle with bullying

are only visible to the students themselves, leaving their instructors hapless to help students who are

most harassed.

In addition to their general ineffectiveness the debate over dress code rules has also created

many troubling gendered issues. Dress codes are invariably more stringent toward female students.

With many schools instituting rules based on how revealing or suggestive female students’ clothing

could be construed to be. Yoga pants, spaghetti straps, and short shorts are common lightning rods for
Evangeline Swanson
T. Eberhardt
Eng. 100
10/30/2017

debate on what is and isn’t appropriate on school grounds. Meanwhile a male equivalent to these

trends is still not forthcoming.

A common argument against these gendered rules run along a first amendment tract. If

administrators are allowed to restrict students dress, especially student dress targeted only at one

group of students, this could be considered unjust persecution of their right to free expression. This is

somewhat supported by the ruling of the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent

Community School District, which concluded that officials couldn’t mandate student expression, in this

case student dress, unless they could conclude it would cause a substantial interruption of school

activities or the rights of others (Hudson).

Many argue against this line of thinking, as Esther Cepeda does in her article, positing that

regulations toward young girls’ dress are not only to enforce an academic mindset, but also to halt to

increasingly pervasive trend of equalization in schools. A women’s argument is commonly applied to

lobby for the freedom of female students to wear whatever they wish regardless of the male or

administrative reaction. However, Cepeda states that it is not only males and administrators who

experience discomfort and that many young girls may feel intimidated or peer-pressured to sexualize

themselves if a few of their more boisterous peers engage in this behavior without

consequence(Cepeda).

However, this line of thinking presents its own problems. While adults may view certain items of

clothing as hyper-sexualized and inappropriate in a school-setting, they run into the same cultural

generation gap as with trendy clothes. What may be considered sexual or lewd to administrators may

simply be par for the course for a younger generation. The rapidly shrinking length of female athletic
Evangeline Swanson
T. Eberhardt
Eng. 100
10/30/2017

shorts and the ubiquity of yoga pants could be taken as a sexualized generation, or simply as a new

fashions that younger people view as normal everyday-wear.

Furthermore, if dress codes are traditionally gendered how can administrators account for the

increasingly prevalence of trans and non-binary issues in American society? To confront a trans student

on the dress code for either gender could vary teacher to teacher, leading to inconsistent enforcement

and unfairness. This further increases the difficult of maintaining equality in a class setting that is crucial

to creating a meritocratic learning environment, an environment whose fairness is already compromised

by rules directed toward females over males.

In conclusion, the school dress code experiment that began in 1995 now has results that can be

used to judge its merit. While there are numerous arguments for their institution these arguments most

not only be judged against the arguments against dress code, but also against the new social

phenomena created by their use. Modern firsthand experience shows that with every problem solved by

dress codes a new problem rises to take its place, or an old problem is never fully extinguished. The

nuances of human relationships at such a tumultuous period of young-adulthood aren’t easily removed

by administrative measures. While we as a society should continually strive to attempt to reduce the

incidences of bullying and social ostracism that cause so many harm, dress codes have shown

themselves as ineffective.
Evangeline Swanson
T. Eberhardt
Eng. 100
10/30/2017

Works Cited

Boutelle, Marsha. “"UNIFORMS: Are They A Good Fit?".” Educational Digest, vol. 73, no. 6, 2003, pp. 34–

37.

Cepeda, Marsha. “Cepeda: There is a Good Reason for School Dress Codes.” The Washington Post 9 Oct.

2014: Print.

Hudson, Daivd L. “K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT EXPRESSION Clothing, dress codes & uniforms.” First

Amendment Center, 1 Apr. 2002, www.firstamendmentcenter.org/clothing-dress-codes-uniforms/.