Should a student expect a yardstick to be used in a classroom to measure the results of a scientific experiment or to measure the length of girls’ skirts? In a school that celebrates cultures from around the world, promotes equity, and encourages diversity of thought, many students found it surprising to receive notice of a “skirt-only” focused dress code over spring break. Specifically, administrators sent two emails entitled “New Uniform Policy – Skirts” with a list of requirements and penalties for noncompliance.
Many found the announcement unexpected. The previous policy, which explicitly stated that shorts for boys and skirts for girls needed to be mid-thigh, was now being repealed and replaced by a very specific skirt-only rule that requires girls’ uniform skirts to be two inches above the knee. While a majority of the school community agrees that a dress code is important to ensure decorum and uniformity, many found the implementation and rollout of the new “skirt-only” focused dress code to be inequitable in approach.
Following the return to school from spring break on March 21st, 2024, every female student from 9th grade to 11th grade was called into the gymnasium during the daily CAPD (advisory) period. Three female members of Administration addressed the female students along with other female teachers. The female students were met with a rebuke on several different items including the length of skirts worn by high school girls, the length of girls’ athletic shorts in the weight room, and prospective families’ impression of The Village School during tours, focusing on skirt length. Given the unexpected session in the gym, many girls asked questions including “Why are the boys not here?” and “What about boy’s shorts?” Instead of addressing the inequity, the response was simply that the meeting was only about skirts and the male population at the school will be dealt with individually when necessary.
“This issue is mainly rooted in the deep disrespect towards young girls and the sexualization of us, rather than how we dress,” said junior and assembly participant, Abigail Evans.
“I understand what the dress code issue was, but at the end of the day, the fact that only female students were at this assembly just shows how young females are sexualized in all aspects of life,” said Evans. “We as girls aren’t dressing to ‘impress,’ we dress in the way we feel comfortable and confident in.”
Many students shared feeling humiliated when a teacher stops a female student in front of her peers to discuss leg exposure. One girl mentioned during the assembly that they have been met with yardsticks since the email and attention to the “issue” at their legs and felt harassed for a subject that should truly be addressed privately. This highlights how dress codes like this draw attention to a female student’s body and how clothes fit her, rather than her academic performance and character. Students shared that it is not the dress code itself that was concerning; instead it was the approach that has been taken that does not demonstrate an equitable, positive, and inclusive learning environment. Several students had one on one discussions with administration after the assembly to express their disappointment with the new rule.
On March 26th and 28th, all junior and sophomore female students were called back into an assembly during their CAPD period. They were met again with members of administration but this time it was different.. In contrast to the first assembly on this topic, this assembly had a conversational tone rather than a “lecture”. Administration and staff offered apologies on the implementation of the new dress code. Staff members expressed their regret in regard to the potential embarrassment female students faced, the punishments given, and the overall approaches taken.
In the month since the revised dress code was implemented, very little has changed. The rule is still in place, and while female students were initially vocal about the revisions to the rule, most students have been mostly apathetic with post-rule enforcement. While it is great that we have engaged in respectful discussions following the initial assembly, it seems we are still missing the mark with implementing a gender based dress code. School needs to be a secure environment that fosters confidence for every student, male or female. While teachers are no longer pulling out yardsticks to measure skirts in class, we still seem to be inches away from equity.
