The gentlemen's section of the handout is only 3 sentences long, gives vague guidelines on appearance, and instructs men to "be classy". Ladies, on the other hand, have more in-depth guidelines, with over 4 paragraphs of limitations and details concerning appearance.
At one point, the code suggests that clothes should "draw attention to your face, not your chest", and that students should "choose an outfit that is pretty enough to show you are a woman and covered enough to show you are a lady".
School president Jerry Deegan said in a prepared statement that there is "more attention given to the recommendation and guidelines for our female students, because there are more styles and options available for them.” The catholic high school focuses on preparing "Christ-centered leaders" for a successful life.
This was pretty insulting, actually. When I first read the title, I was little a skeptical, wondering if this wasn't just an example of the media practicing yellow journalism and blowing a Catholic school's rules out of proportion. No! It seems that, out of societal standards and tradition, there are different expectations for men and women's attire, a symbol of the discrepancies still found between genders, even after several social movements that promote equality for all. As a younger generation, we need to support a society that treats men and women, boys and girls, with equal respect everywhere, including sexism found in the simplest places as a dress code.
I do find it interesting how this school is teaching girls and boys to be faithful children of Christ, yet the girls are treated like objects so boys won't get "turned on"... To me this sounds, well. I am Catholic, and I strongly believe in equality of both men and women (and every single human being, for that matter), and I find it extremely insulting and disrespectful to women to be treated like objects rather than equal beings in the same schools, jobs, etc. this has been an ongoing problem for years upon years because for some reason, women have to abide by men and where the strictest outfits while guys can wear almost anything they please. It just doesn't make any sense to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes me the most angry is that these schools are teaching young girls that they can only earn the title of "lady" and be accepted into society if they dress and act a certain way.
ReplyDeleteIt shows that the school has a certain standard of what a "lady" should look like. Honestly it is disgusting that they are not letting young children express themselves. What the school doesn't realize is by controlling the children, it will only make them want to rebel more and rightfully so.
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