Teen's Smart Response To School's Sexist Dress Code

[redheadbaker]

distractify.com/beth-buczynski/canadian-teen-sexist-dress-code/?ts_pid=2&ts_pid=5

Teen's Smart Response To School's Sexist Dress Code Inspires Girls To Speak Out

This is the full-length halter-top dress Wiggins was wearing. School officials told her the garment was a "sexual distraction" to male students and she would have to serve detention for wearing it.



The disciplinary action was meant to shame her, but Wiggins used it as an opportunity to teach her principal a thing or two about injustice.

Wiggins immediately penned this eloquent note about the incident, how it made her feel, and how dress codes that discriminate in this manner are a disservice to all youth, regardless of gender.


(Full transcript at end of article)

"If you are truly so concerned that a boy in this school will get distracted by my upper back and shoulders then he needs to be sent home and practice self control," she writes.

Instead of inviting Wiggings to have a discussion about the policy or her feelings, Vice-Principal Shane Sturgeon sent her home for the rest of the day. Wiggins then posted the note and dress picture publicly on social media, where they've been shared nearly 1,300 times. The original Facebook post is no longer available. It may have been removed or the privacy settings of the post may have changed.

"It's the double standard society has created because we allowed it, and it's time for that to stop! All it takes is one person to speak up light the spark and the fire in everyone else starts to ignite. It's the beginning to a change!" Wiggins wrote to supporters on Facebook.

Sadly, Wiggins experience is not an isolated one. Thanks to social media, stories like hers are being shared by young women on a regular basis. Rather than be shamed into silence, these students are banding together to raise awareness of the double-standard that exists in many schools, and to expose the message of shame that such policies send to both women and men.

Distractify has reached out to Miss Wiggins for comment.

Here's a full transcript of the note:

“Dear [Vice Principal] Sturgeon,

I have a concern I would like to bring to your attention. In today’s society, a woman’s body is constantly discriminated against and hypersexualized to the point where we can no longer wear the clothing that we feel comfortable in without the accusation and/or assumption that we are being provocative. This unjust mindset towards women is absolutely absurd. The fact that authority figures, especially males, can tell young women they must cover up their shoulders and their backs because it’s “inappropriate” and “a distraction” is very uncomforting. Schools are the social building blocks in an adolescent’s life meant to teach them how to communicate and develop relationships with others and also learning about themselves and who they want to be. It’s preached upon us to be individual, to be ourselves. The double standard here is that when we try, we are then told we’re wrong. We may not truly dress, act or speak how we want because authority figures, and I use that term very loosely such as yourself, tell us we can’t. Yes, I understand there are restrictions to how much and how little of your body that shows, but that applies when people show up in their bikinis or bra and panties. Though I do believe women should legally be allowed to publicly be shirtless considering males are, it’s mindsets like yours that keep that as something that is shamed upon. So no, Mr. Sturgeon, I will not search for something to cover up my back and shoulders because I am not showing them off with the intention to gain positive sexual feedback from the teenage boys in my school. I am especially not showing them to receive any comments, positive or negative, from anybody else besides myself because the only person who can make any sort of judgment on my body and the fabrics I place on it is me.

If you are truly so concerned that a boy in this school will get distracted by my upper back and shoulders then he needs to be sent home and practice self control.

Thank you, have a nice day.”

[NewOrleans]

The sexual distraction thing is garbage, but having your bra straps hang out like that is tacky as hell. Get a halter bra at Target, for crying out loud. Also, tailoring the dress code to say something about keeping tattoos covered in school might help schools' cases a lot more than this distraction talk.

[Deleted]

Why I am displeased by the language the school chose to use, I am not upset at them for telling this girl she can't wear a halter top and/or walk around school with her whole bra straps airing out to the breeze. It's not an appropriate dress for school. Sorry, not sorry.

[Miss Phryne Fisher]

Um...while I don't like their language I don't think they are allowing boys to wear halter tops either. If it were a tank top and boys were allowed to wear wife beaters or some such (as was the case at my school a few years ago) then she would have a point. Not appropriate for school.

[thejackpot]

Awful reason to tell her it is inappropriate but that dress is not ok for school.

[orangeblossom]

Dress is not appropriate for school, but yeah, the principal's reason was BS.

Speaking of BS, did y'all hear about this end of year six grade pool party, and the girls were told to wear shorts over their bathing suits, for pretty much the same reason as this girl.

A parent ripped the school a new one, and they laid off and let the girls just wear their bathing suits sans shirts.

[ChillyMcFreeze]

May 25, 2015 7:49:30 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

Dress is not appropriate for school, but yeah, the principal's reason was BS.

Speaking of BS, did y'all hear about this end of year six grade pool party, and the girls were told to wear shorts over their bathing suits, for pretty much the same reason as this girl.

A parent ripped the school a new one, and they laid off and let the girls just wear their bathing suits sans shirts.

Yeah, that was way more offensive to me. Boys bathing suits are already topless. To required girls to add yet another layer (which, btw, is a drowning risk) is such BS.

[irishbride2]

We make boys and girls wear shirts when we go on swimming related field trips. Problem solved.

[redheadbaker]

May 25, 2015 8:50:43 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

We make boys and girls wear shirts when we go on swimming related field trips. Problem solved.

It's a drowning hazard.

[NewOrleans]

She could have worn a jean jacket and rocked the fool out of that outfit instead.

[irishbride2]

May 25, 2015 9:09:47 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

May 25, 2015 8:50:43 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

We make boys and girls wear shirts when we go on swimming related field trips. Problem solved.

It's a drowning hazard.

Rash guards ? Really? Most people down here wear them when snorkeling. Sun exposure is a cancer hazard so...

[redheadbaker]

I figured people would rip on the dress for school, but she did make a good point with her letter. It's about time we make men and boys accountable for their own behavior, not blaming how women dress.

[orangeblossom]

May 25, 2015 10:23:48 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

May 25, 2015 9:09:47 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

It's a drowning hazard.

Rash guards ? Really? Most people down here wear them when snorkeling. Sun exposure is a cancer hazard so...

I think people are referring to just a typical oversized t-shirt, not a rash guard, that fits close to the body.

[irishbride2]

May 25, 2015 10:29:19 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

May 25, 2015 10:23:48 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Rash guards ? Really? Most people down here wear them when snorkeling. Sun exposure is a cancer hazard so...

I think people are referring to just a typical oversized t-shirt, not a rash guard, that fits close to the body.

Right but hat would work for the dress code of needing a shirt and would be safe. But it should apply to boys and girls.

[orangeblossom]

May 25, 2015 10:32:28 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

May 25, 2015 10:29:19 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

I think people are referring to just a typical oversized t-shirt, not a rash guard, that fits close to the body.

Right but hat would work for the dress code of needing a shirt and would be safe. But it should apply to boys and girls.

It would, and I'm not trying to split hairs, but unless a note specifically said a rash guard type of shirt and/or I lived in an area where rash guards are normally used, I don't think it would occur to me to have my kid wear a rash guard vs. a regular t-shirt.

I do agree the rule should be for boys and girls if the rule has to exist, but I'm not so sure it needs to exist, but that's a whole other post.

[meshaliuknits]

May 25, 2015 10:23:48 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

May 25, 2015 9:09:47 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

It's a drowning hazard.

Rash guards ? Really? Most people down here wear them when snorkeling. Sun exposure is a cancer hazard so...

I was hoping you meant a rash guard & not a shirt.

Our community pool specifies partly because of drowning risk and partly to be clear non swimwear is not allowed because it jacks up their filters.

[ttt]

I'm wondering why she didn't show us the front of the dress...

[lilibet]

May 25, 2015 10:53:47 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

May 25, 2015 10:32:28 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Right but hat would work for the dress code of needing a shirt and would be safe. But it should apply to boys and girls.

It would, and I'm not trying to split hairs, but unless a note specifically said a rash guard type of shirt and/or I lived in an area where rash guards are only used, I don't think it would occur to me to have my kid wear a rash guard vs. a regular t-shirt.

I had no clue what a rash guard was until these boards and I don't think I've ever seen them for sale here, so to me "a shirt over a swimsuit" is the big baggy tshirt my mom made me wear occasionally. So I agree with OB. Just a confusion of terms/meanings. 

[redheadbaker]

May 25, 2015 10:23:48 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

May 25, 2015 9:09:47 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

It's a drowning hazard.

Rash guards ? Really? Most people down here wear them when snorkeling. Sun exposure is a cancer hazard so...

No, t-shirts. The story that orangeblossom was referring to, the school was making all girls (and not the boys) wear non-white t-shirts over their bathing suits. 

ETA link: www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/20/sexist-pool-party_n_7338420.html

[heyjude]

I don't think the dress is school inappropriate. Shrugs.

[heyjude]

(It is ugly though)


(And I judge her parents for letting their teen get a tattoo)

[NewOrleans]

May 25, 2015 11:50:49 GMT -5 heyjude said:

I don't think the dress is school inappropriate. Shrugs.

We don't either, I think. We just think bra straps ruin it and make it inappropriate.  Undergarments on view are tacky and are really not ok. Come on now.

[LoveTrains]

May 25, 2015 12:00:39 GMT -5 heyjude said:

(It is ugly though)


(And I judge her parents for letting their teen get a tattoo)

She might be 18, in which case the parents cant' really prevent it. I was 18 for almost my entire senior year of high school. 

[RoxMonster]

I don't find the dress itself to be an inappropriate outfit, but I do think it would violate a lot of school dress codes. Every school I've either worked in or attended have had stipulations like: 2" straps on tank tops, no bare backs (including the upper back that this dress shows), no halter-style tank tops, etc. I am OK with schools having a dress code like that. I also just don't like the look of wearing a regular bra with a halter so that the straps show - personal preference there.

I really only have issues when the dress code is one thing for boys and one thing for girls (like the swim party example above about only females having to cover with a shirt) or when the BS about women tempting men with their clothing choices gets brought in. Blech.

I do think this student had many points I agree with, but wish she wouldn't have tried to take low blows at the administrator in her letter. It makes her seem childish and petulant, when in reality, she has a lot of good points that people should listen to.

[decemberwedding07]

May 25, 2015 10:23:48 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

May 25, 2015 9:09:47 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

It's a drowning hazard.

Rash guards ? Really? Most people down here wear them when snorkeling. Sun exposure is a cancer hazard so...

This is such a good idea. It takes care of any dress code ambiguity, it's even across the board, AND it reduces the risk of the kids getting burned.

[orangeblossom]

May 25, 2015 13:54:22 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

I don't find the dress itself to be an inappropriate outfit, but I do think it would violate a lot of school dress codes. Every school I've either worked in or attended have had stipulations like: 2" straps on tank tops, no bare backs (including the upper back that this dress shows), no halter-style tank tops, etc. I am OK with schools having a dress code like that. I also just don't like the look of wearing a regular bra with a halter so that the straps show - personal preference there.

I really only have issues when the dress code is one thing for boys and one thing for girls (like the swim party example above about only females having to cover with a shirt) or when the BS about women tempting men with their clothing choices gets brought in. Blech.

I do think this student had many points I agree with, but wish she wouldn't have tried to take low blows at the administrator in her letter. It makes her seem childish and petulant, when in reality, she has a lot of good points that people should listen to.

I don't think anyone is saying the dress itself is inappropriate. It is, however, inappropriate for school without some type of sweater or something, because it likely violates school dress codes.

[ttt]

I don't see how we can say it's appropriate or not when we can only see the back.

[jsillyfun]

I wore stuff like that in high school but my school had a very lax dress code and it wasn't an issue. Honestly i wear similar (but better patterns) dresses to teach in(minus the bra straps showing).

Looks like she has really long hair too that likely covered most of her back anyway.

[irishbride2]

May 25, 2015 11:12:41 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

May 25, 2015 10:23:48 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Rash guards ? Really? Most people down here wear them when snorkeling. Sun exposure is a cancer hazard so...

No, t-shirts. The story that orangeblossom was referring to, the school was making all girls (and not the boys) wear non-white t-shirts over their bathing suits. 

ETA link: www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/20/sexist-pool-party_n_7338420.html

Oh I get that but I was responding why I thought what my schools did was a good solution.

[dianecourt]

May 25, 2015 15:07:26 GMT -5 jsillyfun said:

I wore stuff like that in high school but my school had a very lax dress code and it wasn't an issue. Honestly i wear similar (but better patterns) dresses to teach in(minus the bra straps showing).

Looks like she has really long hair too that likely covered most of her back anyway.

I haven't been in a school for awhile, but backless, halter dresses are okay for teachers?  This is assuming you aren't wearing a jacket or sweater as well.

Note, I have the most lax dress code ever, so this isn't judgment, just asking.