Today I was stopped in the hallway on my way to class by one of the security guards. She wouldn’t let me go to class and forced me to walk across the school to the main office to have my mom, who by the way was on her way to work, bring me “real pants” because the way I dressed was “sexually provocative.” Because of this I was ten minutes late to class, and after five minutes of actually being in class I was taken back out to be talked to again by the security guard and given my “real pants.”
These shorts are mid-thigh, and I am wearing opaque black tights. Other than my hands and my face, I had no skin showing whatsoever. So tell me, how is this being “sexually provocative?” (reminder: this is a typical american public high school, not a private or religious-oriented school)
The security guard ridiculed me, saying that what I was wearing was inappropriate. I told her that everyday, other girls walk around in skin-tight yoga pants, some even with their thongs clearly showing, and shirts that are see-through. “This is not bad clothing.” I had told her. This security guard plays favorites with the girls on who she does call out and doesn’t call out. On game days, the cheerleaders decide to wear their skirts that barely cover their butts and she doesn’t cal them out at all. She also openly said to my mom “I don’t look at what the boys are wearing, only the girls.”
When my mom came in to bring me the pants, she had a long talk with the security guard. She told my mom that I should know that there is a dress code, and that I should follow it. My mom told her “Maybe there shouldn’t be a dress code if it isn’t monitored consistently. This is double-standards.”
My mom also told her “The only distraction from class that is going on is you are pulling my daughter out of class and keeping her from learning.”
I had to walk up to this security guard to get my long pants, since she was talking to my mom, and my mom said to me sarcastically: “It appears that you are being sexually provocative, darling.”
“Oh yes mama, all the boys are just popping boners everywhere!” I pretended to swoon. We both left, my mom calling back to the security guard: “I didn’t need this today, you know. I need to get to work and I haven’t even showered yet. Good Job.”
The whole ordeal was ridiculous. Girls shouldn’t be ridiculed for wearing shorts. Even so, I was wearing thick tights that you couldn’t see through–much better than just wearing yoga pants. There is no way that what I was wearing could even be considered “sexually provocative.” Plus, anything the boys wear is completely fine in the eyes of the security guard, it’s only what the girls are wearing that are “inappropriate.” Even yoga pants where you can see the thong through it don’t “disrupt class” because nobody cares enough about what a student wears and does not wear, only the security guards.
tl;dr, dress codes are counterproductive and the enforcers cause more disruption for a student’s learning than shorts do.