Dress codes. They have been a thorn in the side of teenagers for years and probably still will be in years to come.
Modest parts of our body like our stomachs and shoulders are frowned upon and hidden, despite the heat and humidity of Miami. Innocent parts of young women’s bodies are sexualized and I am fed up. We have shoulders, please do not blame them for the wandering eyes of teenage boys. It is sexist and archaic. Young women should be taught to embrace and love our bodies because we only have one #yolo.
We should not have to hide our bodies because of the distraction they cause to teenage boys. Instead, teenage boys should learn to not ogle young women’s bodies. It’s an important life lesson.
I understand the school wanting to look unified, but dress codes aren’t the way to accomplish this goal. Teenagers will always rebel, we’re just in that stage of our life. We have enough pressure from our parents and doing our homework. The way we express ourselves is through the clothing we wear. If we have dress codes, that would mean only two days a week to express ourselves.
Do you only want your children to be themselves just two days a week? Our teenage years are for us to discover who we want to be in life…our niche. Teens can’t do an adequate job of finding their niche if they’re being told what to wear. Children are being thrown out of classrooms for not complying with dress codes, they’re missing out on valuable classroom time.
Students should be focused on school, getting good grades and enjoying their teenage years. If we wear something that makes us feel confident and look good, I believe you have absolutely no right to stomp on our confidence. Feeling good and embracing your body is a hard thing to do for boys and girls alike. We cannot be contained to one color. One style. One pattern. We are fortunate enough to live in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Forcing children out of what they feel comfortable in and into what administrators feel expresses their individual creativity goes against everything we stand for as a nation. WE are a nation of immigrants. People of all different shapes, colors and sizes. Clothes also come in all kinds of shapes, colors and sizes. Let’s go forth and explore them.
Franny Gonzalez is a freshman at Miami Beach Senior High School.
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