Sexy Shoulders?

Firstly, I would like to say that I think that schools, and workplaces should have a dress code, but also think the dress codes need to be appropriate towards both males and females and also within reason.

I recently came across an article about how a group of high school underclassmen girls were taking a stand against their school dress code. Their argument was that their dress code was gender-biased against females, creating a very strict set of rules for what they can and cannot wear; the main argument was they should be allowed to show their shoulders. The group of girls believe that the dress code unfair because it is aimed towards the girls for creating a distracting learning environment because they are showing their shoulders. They went on to say that the school is “body shaming” females.

            I think the message that they are trying to spread here does not and should not have to stop with a school dress code. The school systems as well as society reinforces these ideas that females are nothing more than sexual objects, and that they need to be reprimanded for that. I don’t understand how we can make a girl feel bad for the way her body looks, and make her go cover herself up. If schools are so worried about a “distracted learning environment” shouldn’t they start with the source of the problem? Boys in our society are not being taught that girls need to be treated with respect and that they are not objects. With the role of media such as the internet, porn, video games, movies; it is constantly reinforcing the sexualization and objectification of women.