No matter where you went to high school, you most likely had to follow an implemented dress code of some kind; some schools require uniforms, some require pants and skirts that run past the knee, and some require simply that their students are clothed. Dress code often serves as a frustrating system for females in particular, as the guidelines pertain more to their style of dress. Sure, there are arguers out there who claim that it is sexist to single girls out as the sole victims, because it neglects of boys who are also potential victims – this is partially true, as the rules do not technically specify gender. However, in the majority of cases, girls are the ones most susceptible to this sexism at a young and developmental age, and fortunately for their peers at Stanton College Preparatory School in Jacksonville, Florida, several young girls spoke up about their school’s outrageous dress code policy for prom.
Along the hallway walls in the high school hung incendiary flyers with various styles of prom dresses, with the caption “Going to Stanton Prom?” followed by either “Yes you are. Good girl,” if the image was of an acceptable dress, or “No you’re not,” if the image was of an unacceptable dress. A photo of the flyers was tweeted Monday, March 27, and it instantly went viral, gaining media attention from all realms of the internet. At this point, nearly all of those planning on wearing dresses have already purchased them. Now there are several things wrong with these images – first off, to deem girls as “good” for following the rules, and therefore “bad” for not, serves as a degrading and dehumanizing form of slut-shaming that should not be practiced among individuals at such a young age (or at all). This leads to another issue: why does this school assume that all boys are going to react like animals to girls showing portions of their back and stomach? The justification in school is that boys cannot concentrate when girls wear revealing clothing, but what are they concentrating on at prom? The Cha-Cha Slide? Not spilling their punch? The school does not even give the boys enough respect to trust that they will control themselves. Not to mention the fact that not a single flyer was found outlining the dress code policy for males. Who is to say that they will not show up in swim trunks, or shirtless?
The hashtag #SCPGoodGirl began trending all over Twitter in order to express feelings of disgust and disappointment. Students, parents and alumni of the high school have gathered together to combat the dress code, sporting purple and white (the colors of feminism from the suffragette movement).
Fortunately, the school heard the voices of those offended by the flyers and took them down, followed by an apology tweet. Although Stanton College Preparatory School conducted their dress code policy in a poor and unjust manner, the administration was mature in appropriately handling the situation and catering to the students’ wishes. The prom took place this past Saturday, April 1, and I hope that everyone felt beautiful and confident.