By Aozora Ito and Kyle Nguyen, Staff Writers
On Sept. 4, the OC Register published an article discussing whether or not dress codes mainly targeted female students rather than males.
The entire debate was sparked when freshman Reina Hardesty at Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo was sent to an administrator after raising her hand in English class, revealing two inches of her midriff as a result. Now 19, Reina had voiced her opinions on numerous occasions, stating how the dress codes are “completely sexist and unfair”. That sparked the question – what do the students of FVHS have to say on the matter?
“Guys can wear almost anything they want, but girls have to wear dresses or shorts long enough,” said Vivian Yenson (’18), who has a strong opinion on the controversy.
It is completely justifiable that students are not allowed to wear blatantly offensive clothing. The ban on gang-related symbols, obscenities, hateful messages, and the promotion of drugs are all understandable. The length of a pair of shorts or skirt is subjective so when supervision dress codes girls for wearing something too short or revealing, it invokes the question: what exactly would be classified as inappropriate and how short is too short?
Probably the biggest controversy within the whole argument is the reasoning that girls’ attire distracts male students and teachers alike. Not only does it spark an issue of sexism, it practically prioritizes the wellbeing of males over females. Although dress codes are meant to be enforced equally regardless of gender, that doesn’t seem to be the case in many of Orange County public high schools.
Kassidy Dam-Nguyen (‘18) concludes the article and describes the nature of this controversial subject as a whole. She believes that such a strict dress code should not be implemented, especially since it seems to be mainly targeting the female student population. The reality is, most girls don’t dress to impress boys or to get anyone’s attention if something accidentally shows.
“I’m very sure we don’t intend for anything other than to feel comfortable and cute. Personally I don’t dress for boys and I know a lot of other girls don’t either so it is really uncomfortable when we are told that it’s distracting to males. I know the dress code could be worse but generally speaking, I think school should always be focused on education,” said Dam-Nguyen.
