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Teens Dress to Defy Gender Norms
High-school students pushing dress-code norms at their schools are raising questions of gender identity—think boys with long hair and lip gloss, and girls in baggier-than-normal jeans or suits. “This generation is really challenging the gender norms we grew up with,” said one psychologist. “A lot of youths say they won’t be bound by boys having to wear this or girls wearing that. For them, gender is a creative playing field.” The most famous example of the new dress-code conflict was an openly gay Mississippi teen girl whose graduation photo was taken out of the yearbook after she posed in a tuxedo. Other schools have had a mixed response to the recent shift in gender expression: Some are accepting (one gay male student was elected prom queen in California), some send students home to change requiring them to dress “in keeping with their gender,” and others claim it’s difficult to protect teens from harassment.
Carole65
Wonder if school uniforms would change the dynamic of the learning and achievement goals in the American public education process?
nortonclybourn
Answer: No.
Plantagenet
Actually, some studies do show improvements in academic performance when students have to wear academic uniforms. It removes all the personal and classroom distractions created by immature students "acting out" through their clothes. The focus should be on academic work, not on lip gloss and skirt length.
Granite
The change in dress code--though much touted--has proven to only provide a temporary boost in morale. Interestingly enough, it is the change that causes this boost. Schools who drop their dress codes also see a boost in their morale.
If they get good grades and stay out of trouble, why does it matter what they wear?
rapierwits
Great point. Look at the tape of Obama's speech at the beginning of the school year. the class president introducing him wore a suit and an earring. The kids in the crowd didn't even seem to have a dresscode.
cbeenthere
Carole-
I wore a uniform grades 1-12. Guess that solves your dilemma. HAHA
Carole65
So your wearing a uniform for 12 years negates my idea that wearing one might create a better enviounment for learning? Who would have guessed.................
rapierwits
Well, Carole, when the kids aren't obsessed with designer clothes, outrageous styles, or gang-related "flags", it does help the learning environment.
OTOH, when teachers have to police tucking in shirts and pulling up pants, it creates a hostile environment between them and the students.
So, it's a trade off.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
seemoreglass
When I was a teen, we had to stage school walkouts to bring attention to the illogical rule of not allowing girls to wear pants ...even in -10 degree weather.
Not allowing a girl to wear a tux in a yearbook photo? Who are the "adults" making that kind of decision?
Welcome to the machine....
skiffymom
As a former yearbook sponsor, I have to say that, even in my relatively conservative Midwestern city, we probably would've kept her picture in. We got a little flak for a "fashion feature" we did on kids' tats in the school, but other than that, it was all pretty "chill." My daughter's high school elected an openly gay prom king (not queen) a couple of years ago, and when Fred Phelps & Co. (the crew that pickets soldiers' funerals) picketed the school in protest, approximately 400 students, alumni, parents, and community members showed up for the counter-protest.
crymeariver
Is the person at the New York Times writing this article 90 years old? When I went to school girls wore "baggier-than-normal jeans" to school, some wore suits and tuxedos to prom for a laugh and we had the goth boys and rockers wearing make-up to school daily. As long as it wasn't slutty or bloody, you could wear anything you want for your year book picture.
Sounds like the NY Times ran out of things to write about and is pretending this is something new. Gee people at the "Gray lady" are really getting old.
edshott
People dress horribly in the US---it used to be that men wore suits on the airlines, to the office, to teach in school---now holy jeans , flipflops etc. A few years ago I went to Europe (Vienna) for the first time , got an inexpensive suit for the trip, blazer slacks and ties but I still felt like a bum-------In Vienna their clothing was durable, well made, shined shoes and nobody, not even the coloureds, were sloppy. Their hip-hop gear looked like it was made to last. I even saw traditional trachen which is made to last a lifetime. American tourists looked like they were dressed by the rescue mission.
Granite
"not even the coloureds were sloppy"
Are you lost in time?
mindusq
coloureds?
jaydeekay
I will agree with Granite...
Coloureds? Really?
It is well past 1950's Alabama, ed.
Honchos
"The coloureds"? Really? Did you think you could slip that in by classing it up with the British spelling? Or are you posting from England in the 1950s?
rickinlb
Then move to Austria!
verysmo
yes, last time I was in Vienna I admired the finely spun and durable hip hop gear being sported by the shaded folk......remarkable.
OldJoe
Not much has changed since the sixties when long hair on boys was the big deal, could get one into fights with different groups. In Jamaica we have school uniforms, which levels the playing field a bit, but unless the outfits are really slack (e.g. pants down to knees to show off underwear, no bra under see through blouse), I think schools best spend more time getting kids interested in the learning and less on how they dress.
rapierwits
Amen
OldJoe
Just a comment on school uniforms which I forgot to mention. In Jamaica, the school uniforms have not improved the conditions of the schools, or rather, since they've always used them, school conditions deteriorate anyway; there's more violence, drop outs, weapons found at schools, fights, on and on, than there used to be; maybe the uniforms make it harder to tell who's making trouble, but then most everyone who spends their days there know. The problem is a bit more than "above the skin" deep, the issues well known to most, starting well before schooling begins, progressing within systems not able to manage the menagerie (no insult on the children intended).
Plantagenet
Its silly to complain that school uniforms don't solve all the problems of schools.
The only problems that school uniforms solve are those related to distractions caused by inappropriate clothing.
speakingout101
Despite some progress in the school enviroment for gay kids, it's still really hard being out in some regions. I know that I my school it sort of changes depending on the people in school. My freshman year, our school's openly gay teacher was harrassed by the students, and to some degree, the priniciples so much that he was forced to quit. My sophomore year, all the old principles left but one, and the few gay kids that were out started a Gay-Straight Alliance chapter (the new principle is a LOT more understanding). By the end of the year, it was pretty "safe" to come out, in the sense that gay kids out of the closet didn't have to worry about harrassment. By just raising awareness about gays, people understood. My junior year, most of the orginal GSA graduated, and the organization slowly fell apart, but it was still ok for kids to be out. Now this year, it's getting worse for gay kids. Most everyone that was openly gay has graduated, and the few kids left that are out are starting to get harrassed for it again. There were some people in the school that were literally celebrating that gay marriage in ME failed to pass popular vote.
It saddens me that gays are treated the way they are in America. Some of our politicians claim that America is a beacon of liberty, human rights, and morality for all other countries to use as a model for their own society, yet at the same time people are discriminated against because what gender they're attracted to. My question to everyone is how will it effect you? How will it effect you if two gay men or women get married? Will your daily life change? If not, then why are people still opposed to gay marriage?
I can only come to the conclusion that it must stem from either bigotry or fear.
Swamprat
Stay in school kids, but make sure you do it our way.
It is the duty of the young to explore new tactics, mannerisms and styles. They are obliged by evolution, to stretch boundaries and define new paradigms.
It is the duty of the old to protect them from harm and to foster their interest in life.
My 2c worth.
Thank you.
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