CA middle school bans "too tight" pants for girls

[KateAggie]

www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/petaluma-middle-school-bans-too-tight-pants-girls/nXD6S/

A controversy at a Petaluma junior high school over a new dress code restriction on the kinds of pants girls can wear has upset students and parents.

At Kenilworth Junior High in Petaluma, a school administrator pulled all the girls aside Thursday afternoon and told them they couldn't wear pants that were "too tight" because it distracts the boys.
Instead of heading to their last class Thursday, all the female students reported to the multi-use room and when they found out what it was about there was quite an uproar.

"It takes away like half of my clothes because I have a lot of yoga pants and leggings, so everyone's kind of like mad about it," said Makenna Mattei, a student.
"We didn't think it was fair how we have all these restrictions on our clothing while boys didn't have to sit through it at all," said Brittany Kruljack, another student.
Some parents were bothered by this because they said it sends the wrong messages to girls. "It is not our girls' fault that these boys have quote 'raging hormones' they can't control," said Lisa Simond, a parent of a student

The school's administrators declined to comment, but sent parents a recorded message explaining the new policy.

"The guiding principle in all dress codes is that the manner in which students dress does not become a distraction in the learning environment, and we get that guidance from the California Education Code. I sincerely apologize that my remarks went farther than the intended message we wanted to deliver," said Kathy Olmstead, assistant principal.

That's not the point, says Jerelyn Kruljac, who wore skinny jeans Friday in solidarity with her daughter and her friends. "Boys need to be taught to respect women no matter what they're wearing, and that's a big deal."

The school said students who violate the dress code will be sent home to change.

[mominatrix]

I'd love a definition of "too tight"


and... don't boys wear tight pants, too? Or do I just live in the kind of Hipster neighborhood where men/boys in skinnies is commonplace?

[meshaliuknits]

Apr 8, 2013 11:22:25 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I'd love a definition of "too tight"


and... don't boys wear tight pants, too? Or do I just live in the kind of Hipster neighborhood where men/boys in skinnies is commonplace?

Word.


And no, it's not just your area. Down here boys manage to wear really tight pants and sag them at the same time. PICK A TREND AND STICK WITH IT! WE'RE AT WAR!

[mominatrix]

Apr 8, 2013 11:24:15 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Apr 8, 2013 11:22:25 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I'd love a definition of "too tight"


and... don't boys wear tight pants, too? Or do I just live in the kind of Hipster neighborhood where men/boys in skinnies is commonplace?

Word.


And no, it's not just your area. Down here boys manage to wear really tight pants and sag them at the same time. PICK A TREND AND STICK WITH IT! WE'RE AT WAR!

GIS brought me this:



OK. that's messed up.





I can't hear the phrase 'tight pants' without thinking of:


...so I'm... just... tight pants aren't reserved for girls.

[Deleted]

I wonder what they are considering too tight? Skinny jeans or leggings as pants?

Because let me tell you, I've seen some of the teenage girls my area wearing the very thin leggings as pants, and there is no fucking way I'd let my daughter out of the house in that.

I do agree that boys should be taught to respect women no matter what they are wearing though. I think the school could have done better in regards to how they presented it. I was in high school when super mini skirts were popular and I clearly remember my school banning them. It wasn't about protecting the precious eyeballs of teenage boys and more about covering up your cooter.

[chickadee77]

I don't have much of a comment except that my nephew was just in town with his girlfriend and several of her sorority sisters. Their pants were so tight *I* was squirming. Holy yeast infections,batman!

But if girls can't be wearing tight pants to school, then boys best not have theirs hanging past their boxers. ETA: And don't even get me started on the Bieber pants you all have pictured. Those should just go away because they're fug and do nothing for anyone.

[mominatrix]

Apr 8, 2013 11:32:01 GMT -5 papiercherri said:

I wonder what they are considering too tight? Skinny jeans or leggings as pants?

I watched the linked video, and there was a lot of footage of skinny jeans and what I would consider to be "normal" leggings.

Yeah. girls wearing tights and passing them off as 'pants' = no bueno. But the stuff in the news story was totally reasonable IMHO.

[KateAggie]

Apr 8, 2013 11:22:25 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I'd love a definition of "too tight"


and... don't boys wear tight pants, too? Or do I just live in the kind of Hipster neighborhood where men/boys in skinnies is commonplace?

But the girls aren't distracted by them, so it's a-ok.  

[meshaliuknits]

Apr 8, 2013 11:27:24 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

GIS brought me this:



OK. that's messed up.

I first learned that dropped crotch pants were a "thing" on this season of Project Runway. A way to sag without actually sagging. I hate them so.

But the dudes I see on the bus have super tight pants and I can make out the pattern on their boxers. I hate sagging, but I hate it combined with the tight jeans oh so much more. Seriously, some of these guys have pants so tight I wonder how they were able to get them up to mid butt to start with.

[epphd]

That's complete bullshit. Come one - what those girls were wearing was tame. Good lord. I'd be livid if I were a parent - and even a parent of a boy. It gives boys no credit whatsoever and perpetuates the notion that males can't be held responsible for themselves. It's insulting all the way around.

[heliocentric]

I'm pretty sure boys that age will have raging hormones no matter what the girls are wearing.

[penguingrrl]

I hate schools that use boys being distracted as an excuse to set a dress code. What about teaching boys how to look past what a girl is wearing?

That said, I have no issue with schools setting reasonable dress codes that apply to all students. Tights as leggings? Nope, no way should anyone be wearing that. My middle school did not allow anyone to wear shorts or skirts that were more than 2" above your knee (and they would pull out a ruler to measure). While that was really annoying to shop for it's not unreasonable. My HS did not allow sleeveless shirts on anyone (not just no tank tops, no bare shoulders at all).

[elleblue]

Apr 8, 2013 11:22:25 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I'd love a definition of "too tight"


and... don't boys wear tight pants, too? Or do I just live in the kind of Hipster neighborhood where men/boys in skinnies is commonplace?

Right?

[ringstrue]

I'm fine with a sweeping change so long as you do it over the summer so families have time to prepare. But still I can't help but wonder what rock these admins have been living under. Tight pants are not a new thing for highschool. Skinny jeans have been around for a while now.

I'm also fine with saying "no leggings or tights as pants" or even "no yoga pants" - but lets not kid ourselves into thinking that it will result in less pants that are tight in the butt.

[statlerwaldorf]

My brother's school banned leggings and yoga pants. I didn't have a problem with it. I prefer outright bans because too tight is way too subjective. Pretty much all jeans for girls nowadays are fitted in the butt. Like the certain number of inches above the knee rule for skirts instead of just saying no short skirts.

[PinkSquirrel]

Girls wearing yoga pants and leggings isn't the problem here and there is nothing inappropriate about either unless the they're see through. It is ridiculous that women need to dress a certain way because men can't handle their shit. Forcing women/girls to make allowances contributes to our rape culture where it is on the woman to not dress a certain way if she doesn't want to get raped, not on the men to keep their dicks in their pants.

[gpw]

Apr 8, 2013 12:42:34 GMT -5 PinkSquirrel said:

Girls wearing yoga pants and leggings isn't the problem here and there is nothing inappropriate about either unless the they're see through. It is ridiculous that women need to dress a certain way because men can't handle their shit. Forcing women/girls to make allowances contributes to our rape culture where it is on the woman to not dress a certain way if she doesn't want to get raped, not on the men to keep their dicks in their pants.

agreed.  I really don't see an issue with leggings or yoga pants.  

....I guess since they make up the majority of my daily wardrobe.  

[mominatrix]

Whenever I hear stories like this, I wonder what "lesson" the boys were getting while the girls were being told that their tight pants were inappropriate.

[cattledogkisses]

Yeah this is bullshit. I wear skinny jeans about 90% of the time. Apparently I'm distracting and tempting men everywhere I go. We should probably just dress girls in sacks so guys are able to control their impulses. Ugh.

[Deleted]

I went to private school, so I'm used to dress codes. I'm not even opposed to them, but come on...girls aren't the only ones with the monopoly on tight pants.

If the dress code is written in a non-gender specific way, I probably wouldn't care. But it's not. And it's all, "Oh, girls, you're responsible for making the boys behave." No, how about everyone behaves and everyone respects each other and that's what we teach?

Aside from that, c'mon. They're teenagers. They're all ogling each other anyway. Uniforms didn't stop me from getting all googly-eyed and staring at the cute boys I went to high school with. And tight pants or not, I know I'm not the only girl (and later woman) that's ogled a fine looking male rear and, right?

[mominatrix]

Apr 8, 2013 13:02:42 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

Yeah this is bullshit. I wear skinny jeans about 90% of the time. Apparently I'm distracting and tempting men everywhere I go. We should probably just dress girls in sacks burqas so guys are able to control their impulses. Ugh.

fixed that for you.


edited to fix a spelling stupidity.

[eddy]

Apr 8, 2013 11:22:25 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I'd love a definition of "too tight"


and... don't boys wear tight pants, too? Or do I just live in the kind of Hipster neighborhood where men/boys in skinnies is commonplace?

Petaluma is totally hipster. so yeah....

[elleblue]

Apr 8, 2013 13:17:21 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

Apr 8, 2013 13:02:42 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

Yeah this is bullshit. I wear skinny jeans about 90% of the time. Apparently I'm distracting and tempting men everywhere I go. We should probably just dress girls in sacks burqas so guys are able to control their impulses. Ugh.

fixed that for you.

I was just about to say "burqas for all" but you beat me to it! heh

[decemberwedding07]

Apr 8, 2013 11:32:01 GMT -5 papiercherri said:

I wonder what they are considering too tight? Skinny jeans or leggings as pants?

Because let me tell you, I've seen some of the teenage girls my area wearing the very thin leggings as pants, and there is no fucking way I'd let my daughter out of the house in that.

I do agree that boys should be taught to respect women no matter what they are wearing though. I think the school could have done better in regards to how they presented it. I was in high school when super mini skirts were popular and I clearly remember my school banning them. It wasn't about protecting the precious eyeballs of teenage boys and more about covering up your cooter.

I think part of the purpose of a dress code in schools should be teaching the students how to dress appropriately.  They don't have to dress like they are working in a law office, but they should at least be taught how to dress for a lower level job that doesn't require a uniform, like hostessing at a restaurant or cashiering at a grocery store.  Leggings as pants fall into the category of inappropriate in any work environment.  I would be okay with an unambiguous dress code that says something like, "no leggings, or pants which do not have a fly (this rules out yoga pants and sweat pants, too) can be worn, unless they are worn under a dress or skirt which adheres to the hem length stated in the dress code."  The way it's currently done, it just sounds like slut shaming, and I am really not okay with that.

[cattledogkisses]

I should clarify: I'm ok with dress codes in schools, as long as they're unambiguous and aren't unfairly targeting one gender. It's the reasoning that's behind this particular case that's bullshit.

[Deleted]

So many female teenagers are so super-sexualized that I think a dress code is important. Not because the boys will get hard-ons but because super-sexualized teenage girls make me want to want to write out some stupid tickets to parents.

I prefer uniforms.

[mominatrix]

Apr 8, 2013 15:14:42 GMT -5 @spenjamins said:

So many female teenagers are so super-sexualized that I think a dress code is important. Not because the boys will get hard-ons but because super-sexualized teenage girls make me want to want to write out some stupid tickets to parents.

I prefer uniforms.

the thing that's funny is that my kid goes to a (public) school that requires uniforms, and I was on the committee that wrote the policy... and we expressly allowed "skinny" pants. No stretchy pants, no yoga pants, no sweats, no ripstop nylon running pants. But yes to skinny uniform pants.

[doobeedoo]

Back when I was in HS, it was all shaker knit sweaters and baggy pants (2 sizes too large, please).  And let's not forget about the big socks and man shoes.  It went really well with our wide permed hair, I tell you.  Boys still got distracted. 

I have no problem with a gender-specific dress code, as fashions / expectations for what is appropriate can be different.  Example:  collared shirts. or hem length or ties. 

I really do think the solution for most schools is to start requiring uniforms.  Uniforms solve a lot of problems. 

[Deleted]

How bout we not teach the boys that it's all the girls' fault that they are "distracted" and teach them to control themselves in the world.  hm?

[phoebebuffay]

I kind of feel like banning yoga pants and leggings isn't a new thing. When I was in 5th grade, I was sent to the nurse's office for wearing bike shorts and told not to wear them again. The shorts were long enough and I wore a long t-shirt with them. I just assumed most schools outlawed tight shorts/pants like that.

Skinny jeans shouldn't be in consideration, though.