Is Your School's Dress Code Sexist?

Just after Labor Day, I noticed a spike in visits to a Uniform Mom post that featured longer skirts for girls that would pass the "fingertip test".  The fingertip test is a commonly used way to determine if the length of a skirt or shorts is too short.  If a girl extends her hands down to her sides and the skirt is past her fingertips, it passes.  If it is shorter than her fingertips, it is considered too short and therefore a uniform infraction at many schools.  Sometimes, administrators make efforts at the beginning of the school year to set the tone with consistent enforcement efforts. In some cases, the school conducts some sort of mass inspection that usually results in headlines in local newspapers and on local news channels. Girls that receive warnings that their skirts are too short may be offered a change of clothes from a inventory of donated second-hand uniforms.  Other times, they may be isolated until a parent can arrive with a change of clothes that complies with code.

I thought that increase in traffic was an indication that your daughters' might be getting caught up in enforcement efforts that left you searching to find retailers that carry skirts that are long enough to pass the fingertip test. I was relieved to learn that this wasn't the case. But....

Instead, I stumbled upon a conversation regarding "slut shaming" that referenced the post.  Stelman, a writer for Addicting Info, a popular liberal blog, wrote a post that summarized recent examples of uniform policies and enforcement efforts that he found to be sexist because they selectively applied to only girls.

This lead me to a video by Laci Green, a sex education activist with a popular channel, Sex + on YouTube.  In her video on Dess Code Sexism, Laci says that the use of school dress code guidelines are not the problem, but she presents top five reasons dress code double standards are sexist. She raises many interesting points that should cause school boards and school administrators to pause and reflect on their own policies and enforcement efforts.

So what do you think? Does your school have any policies that contain these dress code double standards? Have you seen sexism in enforcement efforts or in comments by teachers or administrators? Share your thoughts or observations in the comments below.

Video Pick: A Global Perspective on School Uniforms

This video pick is from Euronews. It is a great piece highlighting use of school uniforms in different countries around the world.

Podcast on Student Standard Attire

The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) produced a podcast series called Today's Middle Level Educator.  One episode, published in October 2009, featured a conversation with Ernie Rambo, an educator in Las Vegas Nevada. The episode is titled "School Uniforms: Jeans or Jackets"?

The description reads:

"Ernie is a classroom teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada, and has been directly involved with the implications of the Uniform issue.  Jack and Ernie examine the advantages and disadvantages of school uniforms and talk about questions the teachers might have regarding the uniform issue and how to address student concerns."

The podcast is just over 17 minutes but is worth the time if you are a school administrator or parent at a school considering implementing a student standard attire policy.

Video Pick: The case for a School Uniform Dress Code

This quality video by French Toast School Wear makes the case for a school uniform dress code and addresses criticism of restricting individuality.

Related Posts: 

French Toast Dollars in Uniform Fundraiser Program 

School Uniforms at French Toast - Retail Round Up Series

Why Non Uniform Days as Fundraisers are a Bad Idea

School Boards implement uniform dress codes for a variety of reasons. One of the most commonly cited reasons is nicely stated by the Orangeburg Consolidated School District Five (SC) to "to reduce stereotyping based on apparel and build unity across social and economic lines". So I applaud Susan Gleaton, a trustee in that school district, for questioning why principles are allowed to declare dress down days that allow students to pay cash to be exempt from the school's uniform policy for the day as reported in the Times and Democrat. Via Twitter, I see evidence of these types of fundraisers used at schools in the US and the UK. I encourage other school boards to examine if this type of activity is occurring in their schools and decide if it is a practice consistent with the goals they set forth when implementing uniform dress code for the students.

These "fundraisers" teach kids that you can buy your way out of following the rules. It promotes a perceived benefit for those with the ability to pay. Aren't we trying to teach kids that socioeconomic status is irrelevant to ones ability to succeed in school, both academically and socially. If your child attends a school with a uniform policy or uniform dress code, you are likely well aware of the both sides of the uniform debate.

So instead of recounting that debate, lets take a look at what students themselves are saying about the specific issue of non uniform days: