by Krissie Ruiz
Editor’s Note: This article is the second in the series of article from the Gavel Staff concerning the climate on campus for women.
The dress code on campus seems to be un-friendly toward women.
Northside has strict rules against dress-code for female students, stating in the dress and groom section of the the student hand book that, “Any clothes that are suggestive or indecent or which cause distraction are not acceptable. Specifically, oversized clothing, tank tops, muscle shirts, halter tops, spaghetti straps, exposed backs or midriffs, and see-through garments are not permitted.”
Social media has seen this issue addressed with oppositional perspectives, with several tweets and stories circulations which argue that a culture has been created around shaming females for showing certain parts of her body because it is arbitrarily labeled as indecent. The argument is that because a woman dresses “indecent”, she wants that suggestive attention. Opponents of this shaming ideology refer to this type of thinking as a part of “rape culture.” According to the Oxford Dictionary, “rape culture” exists when a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse. In the case of dress codes, opponents argue that it encourages this culture and leads to the demeaning of women’s bodies and sexuality as people say comments in a ugly manner towards a person they don’t even know, just for the stake of having to say something to them.
Many students on campus recognize that the policy on dress code for girls seems to focus on the concept of boys being “distracted” by girls shoulders, legs or backs. The responsibility for the boys’ distraction is not placed on the boys themselves, but instead on the girls. Some suggest that this reinforces “boys will be boys” culture in which boys “can’t help themselves” instead of holding boys to a standard of responsibility and maturity.
Senior Timothy Gonzales has expressed how he’s seen some of his female peers being disciplined for dress code because of their outfits, and he feels as though they have been subject to prejudice, especially when girls get called out for not wearing a jacket, forced to go retrieve one, then forced to show the administrator that they had one, and then allowed to go back to class after a whole 15 minute ordeal.
“For some girls [administration] overreacts on their shoulders, or their skirts,” Gonzales said.
He pointed out that he has seen administrators dress coding girls about the littlest of things, and that their clothes were not that big of a deal.
Senior Ricardo Luna does not agree with one of the most common reasons why schools say they have an dress code, under the pretext that a girls’ outfit might be/become a distraction for her male peers.
“People get distracted by anything,” Luna said.
Holmes Alumi of the class of 2009 and women’s rights advocate Denise Hernandez who is the founder of Maestranza, a spokesperson at Growing Empowerment, and a member of the San Antonio New Leadership Council, knows what it’s like to be talking and feeling as-though your voice is falling on deaf ears.
“They are looking at what I’m wearing, and not what I’m saying,” Hernandez said.
Senior Tiarah Figueroa has felt as-though people put to much pressures on girls to watch the way they act, and the way they dress. She points out that if a girl’s outfit is to revealing, the girl is faced with sour looks and judgement. On the other hand, if she isn’t showing enough skin, she’s considered someone who is very uptight. It seems to be a lose-lose for girls on campus.
She has expressed how she feels about ‘girls clothing being a distraction’ phrase that is being used as an excuse for not only her peers, but for an entire society as a whole. She doesn’t feel it’s logical for her to be held responsible for the actions of another, and wonders why she is being punished for boys’ lack of self-control.
“It is not my problem if a boy cannot focus,” Figueroa said.