I’ve read tons of posts about dress codes in US schools. Recently I even read an article about a girl who was sent home for having a top without sleeves. It’s so weird that our online magazines have started to cover it. And all of this seems like a dystopia to me.
Here’s a thing: Finnish schools do NOT have any dress codes. Like, at all. Nothing. As long as you have all legally demanded parts covered. Also, teachers might sent home a note if they notice a young child not wearing a hat or a jacket in winter (it’s FREEZING but hats are not cool yo).
I attended this elite high school (no, not EXPENSIVE, education is free in Finland, elite as in nerds and good teachers). All kids in there had the best grades of our entire country. It’s also a very old, traditional school that has produced many artists, politicians etc. for us (Finland is a small village but compared to that, those people are great). And what did I wear to this fancy school?
Leather skirts, so short everyone saw my garters. Skin thight red tops so open that you could see the color of my bra. Fishnet stay-up socks. Leather boots with stiletto heels. And I also sat on my desk most of the time, so all boys behind me could clearly see all the glory of my high-heeled legs. I admit, I was bit of a goth kid then.
Guess what? Everyone passed the classes. I did not cause all the boys in our year to fail. Actually, they got used to it so quick nobody even noticed my clothes. And nowadays I attend a respectable office job where I dress in a modest (altough personal) way. Because in Finland we let kids be kids. I had plenty of time to learn professional dress code after I’d had my fun.
TLDR; Dress codes for kids are weird and unnecessary and not having them will not make the world burn.
Honestly though? I live in America and went to a poor public school whose dress code was more akin to a uniform (it was sexist as all hell too, as dress codes usually are).
When we got a new principal, he got SO SICK of teachers sending kids to the office for something as stupid as not having a belt (news flash, some of us are poor, we couldn’t afford all those new clothes AND a belt), so he pushed and pushed to get a more relaxed code. And it finally happened.
And you know what the kids all finally fucking did? We either dressed like we would ANY OTHER DAY OF THE WEEK, or fucking sweatpants and t-shirts because it was high school and we were tired and wanted to go home and crawl in bed.
They were SO SCARED that people would come to school in stripper clothes and t-shirts with cuss words on them, but the minute we were given that opportunity? We DIDN’T take it. They completely didn’t know how we would react to this change, but for DECADES they just assumed the reaction would be “”“"bad”“”“.
Also I think it became clear that the dress code was being used by a lot of teachers to underhandedly abuse students they didn’t particularly like.
Anyways tldr: dress codes are stupid and sexist and also wildly underestimate a child’s ability to differentiate between right and wrong, and also THE WORLD DIDN’T FALL APART WHEN IT WAS FINALLY LAXED.
Realistically dress codes exist for the grown ass people who dont know how to control themselves. If anything a child or teen can learn more about how theyd like to present themselves with less rules and regulations. There will always be ones who chose to present themselves in a way that some consider inappropriate. But they are the same ones who will break the rules when there are rules about attire.
The reality is students are expected to dress a certain way because of the adults. A 12 year old girl whos popular and considered attractive will get away with breaking dress code until they encounter a female teacher who will say its inappropriate (jealous of a 12 year old???). But a male teacher wont step in (she looks good right???). A different 12 year old girl who is less popular or considered less attractive in some way will slide right by female teachers (empowered or nonthreat???). But the male teacher will turn her in (cuz he doesnt wanna see that???). Dress codes in america are a joke and are considerably biased toward females and a horrible excuse for grown ass adults to blame a kid for their own inability to control themselves. An establishment meant to educate has no room for horny or jealous or anything personal at all. And removing the right to dress as pleased can ruin a canfidence that hardly exists for most already at that age.
browsedankmemes