Are school dress codes outdated?

[Stevicus]

Florida yearbook altered photos to cover more of high school girls' chests - CNN

I came across this story about a school in Florida editing the yearbook images of some of the students, apparently because they failed to meet the dress code.

(CNN)Flipping open a yearbook for the first time is normally a moment full of excitement -- but at one Florida high school, some students were left in shock after seeing that their yearbook portraits had been edited.

When Bartram Trail High School freshman Riley O'Keefe saw her yearbook photo, she noticed a black bar was added to cover more of her breasts.
"I couldn't believe that they printed the yearbook looking like that," O'Keefe, 15, told CNN. "And then I started to flip through the yearbook and saw more and more girls with their chest edited."

She texted her mother a photo of it on Wednesday from the school in St. Johns, Florida.

"I know she's worn (the outfit) in school hundreds of times because it's like her go-to outfit," her mother Stephanie Fabre told CNN on Monday, saying she believes the outfit had met the district's dress code. The dress code states that girls' tops "must cover the entire shoulder and they must be modest and not revealing or distracting."

There were 80 photos of female students that were altered in the yearbook this year, the district's Chief of Community Relations Christina Langston told CNN on Monday.

I guess they felt they didn't meet the dress code.

"It is disappointing to be addressing the student picture situation in the Bartram Trail High School Yearbook," St. Johns County School District Superintendent Tim Forson said in a statement to CNN. "Certainly, there has never been an intent to embarrass or shame any student for the clothes that they wear. Unfortunately, we are learning a valuable lesson in the importance of process and understanding that the intent is not always the result."

The high school's website has a disclaimer saying that if student portraits in the yearbook did not match the district's student code of conduct, they may be "digitally adjusted."

"The yearbook coordinator made the decision to edit the photos based on her assessment that the females were not in dress code," Langston said in an email to CNN.

The superintendent said there was an insufficient review before the school decided to edit some of the students' images. He called the staff member involved an "outstanding educator" and said there will be changes in how the content is considered in yearbooks to come.

The superintendent said that yearbook coordinator made the decision but that there was insufficient review. So, are they going to appoint a committee? No wonder our schools are so messed up.

The student dress code prohibits clothing that is "immodest, revealing, or distracting," according to the district's code of conduct. However, each school's principal has the "final authority" over whether a student's dress is appropriate, the code says.

The anger over the edited yearbook photos is part of a larger issue, said Fabre. It's the district's dress code that needs to be revisited for its inequity with how it treats what girls wear, as opposed to boys, the student's parent said.

"It comes on the heels of a much bigger issue of gender discrimination and these girls being targeted and sexualized for being told that their clothes are wrong," she said. "There's inequality within their dress code."
In the section about all students, the dress code says "students are prohibited from wearing clothing that exposes underwear or that exposes body parts in an indecent or vulgar manner."

Under the "All Students" section, it says, "Tank tops and shirts are not acceptable except in physical education classes."

The girls' section says girls cannot wear skirts that are shorter than four inches from the top of the knee. It also says, "Revealing clothing, pajamas and lingerie are not acceptable. Underwear must not be exposed. Hair curlers and excessive make-up shall not be permitted."

While the dress code for girls and boys each have three entries, the list of rules for boys is shorter. The rules for boys include "boy's pants/slacks must be worn at the waist. No boxer shorts or underwear may be visible. Mustaches and beards shall be neatly trimmed." Pajamas and revealing clothing are not permitted.

The district dress code also prohibits attire that displays "profanity, violence, discriminatory messages, sexually suggestive phrases, advertisements, phrases or symbols of alcohol, tobacco or drugs."

It's funny, because when I was in high school (late 70s/early 80s), I don't recall that there even was a dress code. There probably was something about it in the school rules, but it never came up as an issue. Most students just wore t-shirt and jeans. The school had other problems, but worrying about what students were wearing was not one of them.

I think dress codes started to get stricter in the late 80s/early 90s, when much of the 1970s era permissiveness was coming to an end.

But have they gotten too strict these days?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Is no one pointing out they also yellowed her skin and did more than just add a black box?

 

[Stevicus]

Is no one pointing out they also yellowed her skin and did more than just add a black box?

I didn't notice that.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Florida yearbook altered photos to cover more of high school girls' chests - CNN

I came across this story about a school in Florida editing the yearbook images of some of the students, apparently because they failed to meet the dress code.

I guess they felt they didn't meet the dress code.



The superintendent said that yearbook coordinator made the decision but that there was insufficient review. So, are they going to appoint a committee? No wonder our schools are so messed up.



It's funny, because when I was in high school (late 70s/early 80s), I don't recall that there even was a dress code. There probably was something about it in the school rules, but it never came up as an issue. Most students just wore t-shirt and jeans. The school had other problems, but worrying about what students were wearing was not one of them.

I think dress codes started to get stricter in the late 80s/early 90s, when much of the 1970s era permissiveness was coming to an end.

But have they gotten too strict these days?

I think people are too paranoid now. Everyone today has some evil perverted intent these days, and if they don't cover up those gawd awful attributes this girl will become the victim of some serial killer or rapist.


Granted it's clearly an exaggeration here, but I don't think it's too far stretched to say there's paranoia and high strung reactions to something that in the past wasn't ever any type of big deal.

Kind of reminds me of that same paranoid obsession found in the 30s and 40s if a woman ever dared to show too much ankle at the beach much less school.

 

[Thief]

I went to catholic all boy high school

dress pants and shirt
no tennis shoes
wear a belt AND and tie

we went about like business men in training

no facial hair
hair cut not allowed on ears, eyebrows or collar

they finally dropped the hair restriction.....just as I was leaving
students were not willing to attend such a scholastic .....environment
taught by priests

but the easement was not enough
the school closed and is now home for the priests

 

[Vinayaka]

I think it very much depends on culture and country. Is this is an American only discussion, or are other countries like Britain, Saudi Arabia, or India included?

 

[Windwalker]

I think it very much depends on culture and country. Is this is an American only discussion, or are other countries like Britain, Saudi Arabia, or India included?

Since it was in Florida, while in America some probably prefer a more Saudi-style standards clothing attire for females, where not just the cleavage is covered up, but so is anything above or below the eyes. It is after all, up to women to keep men's eyes where they belong.

I think this photo-editing fanatic was just your typical right wing fundamentalist who believes they are doing God's work to impose their standards upon young females. 'We mustn't let the young boys have fantasies of such things, because that poisons being a good person and your chances of getting to heaven!'

 

[Mock Turtle]

They were a bit lax at my secondary school, where many of the girls then were wearing hooped skirts - and not much was done about it apparently. Us boys were supposed to wear a uniform jacket and tie along with appropriate trousers so I suspect the girls got off lightly for some reason, but they were usually the ones not exactly in the top classes.

 

[HonestJoe]

Is no one pointing out they also yellowed her skin and did more than just add a black box?

I suspect that's just the difference between the quality of the original print and a photograph of the yearbook itself.

 

[HonestJoe]

But have they gotten too strict these days?

I don't think strictness is the issue here, more a lack of consistency. In fact I'd say that is in part due to a general relaxing of what is acceptable making is all the more difficult to draw a definitive line.

Maybe this is an argument for bring back actual school uniforms, which would at least eliminate a lot of the inconsistency?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I suspect that's just the difference between the quality of the original print and a photograph of the yearbook itself.

Didn't have that problem in any of my yearbooks.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I think people are too paranoid now. Everyone today has some evil perverted intent these days, and if they don't cover up those gawd awful attributes this girl will become the victim of some serial killer or rapist.


Granted it's clearly an exaggeration here, but I don't think it's too far stretched to say there's paranoia and high strung reactions to something that in the past wasn't ever any type of big deal.

Kind of reminds me of that same paranoid obsession found in the 30s and 40s if a woman ever dared to show too much ankle at the beach much less school.

The Bible and Koran both state a woman is to cover up so she doesn't arouse desires amd lusts in men.

 

[HonestJoe]

Didn't have that problem in any of my yearbooks.

It's not about it being a yearbook. On the left is a photograph and on the right is a photograph of a photograph, hence the general loss of quality, including the colour.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Florida yearbook altered photos to cover more of high school girls' chests - CNN

I came across this story about a school in Florida editing the yearbook images of some of the students, apparently because they failed to meet the dress code.

I guess they felt they didn't meet the dress code.



The superintendent said that yearbook coordinator made the decision but that there was insufficient review. So, are they going to appoint a committee? No wonder our schools are so messed up.



It's funny, because when I was in high school (late 70s/early 80s), I don't recall that there even was a dress code. There probably was something about it in the school rules, but it never came up as an issue. Most students just wore t-shirt and jeans. The school had other problems, but worrying about what students were wearing was not one of them.

I think dress codes started to get stricter in the late 80s/early 90s, when much of the 1970s era permissiveness was coming to an end.

But have they gotten too strict these days?

If the student is compelled to be in school, then there should be no dress code beyond what the law generally requires.

The only exception I see is in behaviour that might be expressed through clothing. If it wouldn't be okay for a student to say something verbally (e.g. intimidating or denigrating someone), it wouldn't be okay to wear it as a slogan on a shirt.

Separate dress codes for boys and girls are outdated prejudice.

 

[JustGeorge]

Our district has a uniform, which is extremely agitating because its public schools.

Its just a huge pain in the butt, in my opinion. I gotta buy clothes for the kids that I dislike, they dislike. When I was a young single mom, I couldn't afford it at all. The school my oldest went to provided him a couple uniforms, which wore out quickly because of constant washing (thankfully I had access to a washing machine), despite the fact he had a whole dresser full of other clean clothes. Our district is poor, so I know I wasn't the only one with trouble. Besides, I like the idea of kids being kids. There is enough time to wear uniforms later on.

I kinda feel sorry for the girl in the picture. Being a top heavy person, a lot of times what is 'casual' on one person looked 'showy' on me. The only way to avoid it would be wear nothing but t-shirts and turtlenecks. That very well could be the case here, and she may have been embarrassed by more attention being called to it(I usually was). I remember having to cut a scrap of material and pin it into my work shirts to prevent showing too much.

 

[McBell]

Florida yearbook altered photos to cover more of high school girls' chests - CNN

I came across this story about a school in Florida editing the yearbook images of some of the students, apparently because they failed to meet the dress code.

Well, that is the original line of bovine feces they tried to feed the public.

If it truely was about the dress code, how did 80 students, all females, get these dress code violations past the whole school district on picture day?

 

[metis]

Even though I did not go to a parochial school, I do feel that dress codes that are standardized within each school is preferable so as to try and reduce competition and also to better prevent unwelcome outsiders from entering the school undetected.

 

[McBell]

Is no one pointing out they also yellowed her skin and did more than just add a black box?

I have to wonder why the "editor" of the photo thought it was a good ideea to make it appear she just suffered a massive stroke...

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Even though I did not go to a parochial school, I do feel that dress codes that are standardized within each school is preferable so as to try and reduce competition and also to better prevent unwelcome outsiders from entering the school undetected.

My sister went to a high school with a uniform. There was still plenty of competition over the things where the dress code allowed for it: shoes, coats, backpacks, binders, etc.

She and her friends would also still hang out together after school and on weekends when they wouldn't be in uniform.

 

[Vinayaka]

There are extremes. Some kids will test it. In my high school 50 years ago, a couple of girls came obviously bra-less. Poor principal didn't know what to do.

In India, when I saw a group of young ladies from a college get off a bus all dressed in the same colourful sari, I thought it was beautiful. I think the local culture has a real bearing on things.

At the school I worked at, (Canada) we were more concerned about drugs, illegal activities or overtly sexual slogans than the clothing itself. The punishment was to wear it inside out. Heck, a couple of teachers I knew dressed like hookers.