This article was written with no intended disrespect towards anyone involved in the creation of dress code. I just felt the need to voice my concerns regarding the inequality of the dress code.

Do we need a dress code?

Everybody knows the dress code. No tank tops, no shorts above your finger tips. Don’t show your bra or underwear.

The dress code was invented to prevent the boys and girls of a beloved school from getting too distracted. We wouldn’t want them to pay more attention to a bare shoulder than to multiplication and division.

I recently interviewed Eddie Jacobs, the vice principal of Ada High School. He seemed to be very adamant about the importance of the dress code.

“I think the school is…kind of like a work place, so to speak, and different jobs have different criteria as far as what you wear, and high school prepares you for the future,” said Jacobs. “And one thing you’ll see in the future is a dress code.”

Is the dress code equal for males and females?

I asked Jacobs if he believes the dress code was more directed toward the female gender. He did not, which is a point I can concede to him. However, it seems to me there are more things a female student could potentially get in trouble for.

How many times do you see cheerleaders walking around in their short skirts and razor back tops? Why is it that their school made cheerleading uniforms are allowed to violate the dress code, but when a girl wears a tank top, she is publicly embarrassed because her shoulders are showing and is forced to leave class to change?

Maybe instead of telling a girl her body is “distracting,” we should start telling everyone else that girls’ bodies are their own and that there is no reason to stare and make people uncomfortable.

Females wear what they wear to school because they are comfortable, not because they’re trying to show off their bodies. Being forced to change into clothes that are not theirs can make people extremely uncomfortable.

Is the dress code the same for all females?

However, not every violator gets pulled for the dress code.

I see plenty of people walking around who are breaking the dress code. They somehow managed to make it through the day, while some who wear tank tops that didn’t show anything, have to change or be hot all day because they have to wear a jacket or hoodie.

I’m not saying the dress code should be banned or the violations should go unpunished. I’m just saying that when we wear a tank top and nothing is showing, then we shouldn’t get pulled out of class to change. I know the things I wear are for myself. Think about it. How many times do you see girls getting dress coded because of a tank top? Now, how many times do you see a cheerleader get told her skirt is too high, or that her shoulder blades are showing?

Here’s another point: when a skinny girl wears shorts too short, no one thinks a thing. When “bigger” girls wear shorter shorts, they get dress coded.

No one ever realizes how much strength it takes to leave your house in the morning knowing that people don’t look at you the same way they look at other people. When a bigger girl wears shorts, she’s finally being confident in the way she looks. Who are we to tell her that’s wrong?