Total Pageviews

random musings of a crazy cat lady

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Old Biddy's Annual Rant on Dress Codes

It's that time of year again, folks.  It's finally summer, and that means only one thing. No, I'm not talking about pollen or vacation, I'm talking about the annual outburst of news about school dress codes and the girls affected by them. OMG, exposed bra straps, tank tops, short-ish shorts!  Oh no!  Won't someone think of those poor boys who are tempted.....Heaven forbid someone see a square inch of a shoulder. I'm not sure if things are getting more puritan, or if more people are speaking out via social media.
This needs to stop.  I'm wasting valuable time reading about it that could be better spent on chemistry, gluten-free cooking, looking at cat pictures on the internet, or watching the World Cup.
Fuck you, freakishly sex-obsessed and yet puritanical American attitudes.  It has nothing to do with getting students ready for dress codes at work, as some people claim.  It's all about the idea that women's bodies are not their own.  First we as a society tell young girls that looking pretty is more important than anything else, and bombard them with scanty, frilly stuff to wear in the interest of looking cute and girly.  Then around the time that they start to hit puberty, we start to tell them that no, they can't wear that top to school, even if they wore something similar last month or last week without any issues, or their friend who is shorter/taller/fatter/skinnier/cuter/less cute can wear it without getting in trouble.  Heaven forbid they go braless, but heaven also forbid if the tiniest bit of a bra strap is visible. They're brazen, boy-tempting hussies either way.  And so on, and so forth.  It's their unpleasant introduction the to ever-shifting, "U R Doin it Wrong" world of being an adult woman.
Don't get me wrong, I am ok with school uniforms, or even consistently applied, reasonable dress codes.  No fingertip rule, or rules that only affect girls, or only take effect once girls hit puberty.  And, for heaven's sake, take it easy on kids who are going through growth spurts. Stop obsessing about what girls are wearing; if it bugs you, stop looking.  Stop worrying about boys getting boners, too - they're teenagers and are going to get approximately one million boners per day, regardless of their surroundings.


No comments:

Post a Comment