Some high schools have a uniform, and others have a list of specific guidelines, stating how the administration would prefer the students to dress. Our school seems to follow the latter. However most students don’t know where to find it. If a student happens to come across the “dress code”, (which, for those of you who were uninformed, is tucked away in the beginning sections of your student handbook on page 16) following it can be complicated. The guidelines can be perceived as inexplicit. While this does give students the latitude to make their own choices about what they wear, it also leaves them vulnerable to discipline if they happen to accidentally make the wrong choice. The specifications in the dress code appear to be broad; this allows for students to interpret them in their own way and make responsible choices. Though the guidelines give the illusion of general, nonspecific regulations that apply to all of the student body, there are points that reveal the reality of the gender specific directives hidden within our school’s dress code.
Although it permits us to make our own fashion choices responsibly, there are more restrictions directed towards female students than our male counterparts. Although some of the specifications are gender neutral, two are gender specific (female) . The dress code calls out students who seem to have the habit of wearing “clothing that excessively exposes the body- bare midriff, crop tops which exposes the abdominal area, halter tops, tube tops, and tank tops with straps less than one inch wide are not permitted. Exposure of the cleavage is not permitted.” This language suggests gender specification within the dress code, without a male equivalent.
There aren’t many guidelines we have to abide by, and the few we are required to follow can be vague. An example of one that could be better defined is “excessively short shorts or skirts.” What may be “excessively short” to some, may not be “excessively short” to everyone. It all depends on how one interprets this guideline. During criminal case hearings, laws and other legal terms are often called into question if not deemed “specific enough.” Logically, one would follow the same protocols in the dress code, to avoid any “fashion crimes”.
While writing this article, I began to consider my personal feelings towards the dress code with regard to how I dress. I realized that, up until today, I wasn’t basing my fashion choices with an understanding of the code’s guidelines. I set my foundation on what I saw around me, and compared myself to how other people dressed. I saw a majority of my peers dressing similarly to how I was, so I thought I was fine and didn’t need to look at the dress code. If all of these people could dress the way they wanted, I should be able to without repercussions. I had been using confirmation bias to determine if the way I was dressing was appropriate. After thoroughly reading through the dress code in order to write this article, not only did I ascertain I was wrong, I also discovered the truth within its specifications.
I asked around to see what your peers had to say about the dress code and its guidelines. Victoria Lee ‘21, knew the dress code was in the student handbook, but never thought to look at it. At first I thought she was just uninformed about the exact location of the dress code, as many HPHS students are, so I pressed her for more information. When asked why, she responded, “I mean I'd hope anything I wear is appropriate, or doesn’t go against any of the guidelines. I've never worn anything I’d think would go against the school dress code so I don't really look at it”. Part of what Victoria said struck me: “I've never worn anything I’d think would go against the school dress code so I don't really look at it”. I can only assume Victoria has made her decision based on what she sees around her; how other people dress, as I have. Julia Marks ‘19, when asked about the dress code, said, “It’s definitely been less strictly enforced over the years, giving students the chance to make responsible choices.” This supports a point I made earlier, to an extent. Many students have given credence to a fallacy, which until now they have known as fact: the dress code is perspicuous. Though this may not be the case, the dress code isn’t all that bad; considering less than a century ago high school students had to wear uncomfortable, itchy uniforms to school that were more obviously gender specific, I think we’ve got it pretty good.
This being said, that doesn’t mean the gender specification in the dress code should be acceptable by any means. Personally, I find it notable that there is only one specification in regard to what a male student can and cannot wear, that could make his peers feel uncomfortable. To be fair, there is a specification forbidding pants that “sag below the waistline”. Stereotypically, this is a guideline more likely to affect male student body rather than the female. However, that is just one guideline specifying what males should or should not wear, compared to two targeting the female student body based on what their most likely to wear.
To add a little humor to this quite serious topic, I’ve added some examples of uniforms from the 1920s, so we can see how easy we all have it in comparison:
Although it permits us to make our own fashion choices responsibly, there are more restrictions directed towards female students than our male counterparts. Although some of the specifications are gender neutral, two are gender specific (female) . The dress code calls out students who seem to have the habit of wearing “clothing that excessively exposes the body- bare midriff, crop tops which exposes the abdominal area, halter tops, tube tops, and tank tops with straps less than one inch wide are not permitted. Exposure of the cleavage is not permitted.” This language suggests gender specification within the dress code, without a male equivalent.
There aren’t many guidelines we have to abide by, and the few we are required to follow can be vague. An example of one that could be better defined is “excessively short shorts or skirts.” What may be “excessively short” to some, may not be “excessively short” to everyone. It all depends on how one interprets this guideline. During criminal case hearings, laws and other legal terms are often called into question if not deemed “specific enough.” Logically, one would follow the same protocols in the dress code, to avoid any “fashion crimes”.
While writing this article, I began to consider my personal feelings towards the dress code with regard to how I dress. I realized that, up until today, I wasn’t basing my fashion choices with an understanding of the code’s guidelines. I set my foundation on what I saw around me, and compared myself to how other people dressed. I saw a majority of my peers dressing similarly to how I was, so I thought I was fine and didn’t need to look at the dress code. If all of these people could dress the way they wanted, I should be able to without repercussions. I had been using confirmation bias to determine if the way I was dressing was appropriate. After thoroughly reading through the dress code in order to write this article, not only did I ascertain I was wrong, I also discovered the truth within its specifications.
I asked around to see what your peers had to say about the dress code and its guidelines. Victoria Lee ‘21, knew the dress code was in the student handbook, but never thought to look at it. At first I thought she was just uninformed about the exact location of the dress code, as many HPHS students are, so I pressed her for more information. When asked why, she responded, “I mean I'd hope anything I wear is appropriate, or doesn’t go against any of the guidelines. I've never worn anything I’d think would go against the school dress code so I don't really look at it”. Part of what Victoria said struck me: “I've never worn anything I’d think would go against the school dress code so I don't really look at it”. I can only assume Victoria has made her decision based on what she sees around her; how other people dress, as I have. Julia Marks ‘19, when asked about the dress code, said, “It’s definitely been less strictly enforced over the years, giving students the chance to make responsible choices.” This supports a point I made earlier, to an extent. Many students have given credence to a fallacy, which until now they have known as fact: the dress code is perspicuous. Though this may not be the case, the dress code isn’t all that bad; considering less than a century ago high school students had to wear uncomfortable, itchy uniforms to school that were more obviously gender specific, I think we’ve got it pretty good.
This being said, that doesn’t mean the gender specification in the dress code should be acceptable by any means. Personally, I find it notable that there is only one specification in regard to what a male student can and cannot wear, that could make his peers feel uncomfortable. To be fair, there is a specification forbidding pants that “sag below the waistline”. Stereotypically, this is a guideline more likely to affect male student body rather than the female. However, that is just one guideline specifying what males should or should not wear, compared to two targeting the female student body based on what their most likely to wear.
To add a little humor to this quite serious topic, I’ve added some examples of uniforms from the 1920s, so we can see how easy we all have it in comparison: