dismantlethis

[dismantlethis]

A cultural norm in the US that needs to change, and the barriers that are keeping change from happening.

One cultural norm in the US that needs to be changed is having strict dress codes in grade schools, and especially that dress codes for male students are much less strict than for female students. While there have been unwritten expectations of what children should wear to school, the first time dress codes became a matter of law was in 1969. The Des Moines School District in Iowa suspended 2 students for wearing black armbands in protest of the vietnam war. The case, TINKER v. DES MOINES SCHOOL DIST., 393 U.S. 503 (1969), made it to the supreme court, and the courts sided with the school district Since then, there has been an increase in official dress code policies around the US. Dress codes have since been used as a tool for social control, and the perpetuation of racist, sexist, homophobic, ethnocentric, ideals of the white ruling class. Dress codes became much more common in the 1990’s as gang violence in the late 80’s and 90’s grew. The focus of dress codes moved to anti-black standards. Dress codes focused on banning colors, clothing sizes, even how people wore hats. As I was entering middle school in 2002, the focus of dress codes had really moved towards policing girls' bodies, and slut shaming children. Dress codes today are still primarily used to police girls' bodies, and enforce binary gender roles.  I went to a private elementary school. There was no dress code, and no negative/inappropriate comments were ever made about my body or clothing, especially not by adults. In 7th grade I transitioned to public school, I started in the middle of summer, in Los Angeles. Naturally, it was very hot, so I wore a tank top. My first memory of public school was an adult, female, teacher telling me that I was dressed like a slut, and distracting my male classmates, and that I should be ashamed of myself for wearing a tank top. I also remember the many male students standing up for me, and telling the teacher that they were insulted that she thought so low of them, when none of them had given a 2nd thought to what i was wearing. School dress codes are sold to parents and students alike as a necessity, to keep students from distraction, and foster a healthy learning environment. When in reality they  make women and girls feel powerless, scared, confused, and ashamed of their bodies. They reduce boys and men to rabid beasts who are all impulse driven, and have worse control than your average pet dog. They sexualize girls bodies, and perpetuate rape culture. They teach boys that what girls are wearing is an invitation for how to treat them, and if they are wearing revealing enough clothing, that they are inviting sex. Grade school dress codes should exclusively focus on the literal safety and health needs of students and staff, such as tennis shoes and socks in gym class to prevent injuries.

One of the biggest barriers to changes in dress codes is ethnocentrism. As I stated above, a big reason for dress codes is to enforce strict binary gender roles, and gendered dress codes live in the intersection between racism and ethnocentrism. Standards such as how long a male's hair can be is also used to target many native American men for having long hair, as is standard in many Native cultures. Dress codes policing hair may also be used as a tool of racial violence, by banning locs, or corn rows. Dress codes enforce standards of the white upper class, while intentionally discriminating against other cultural practices.  Another big barrier, obviously, is norms around modesty, which are also different among the many different cultures of people who attend public grade school in the US. This is me in 2009. I was 17, and a senior in high school. I wore this outfit to school one time, and got dress coded. I still cant wear anything without a tank top because i get so anxious about my breasts being at all exposed. That intense feeling of shame can take a lifetime to overcome, and for what? A band t-shirt on a child.