Dress Codes as Gender Politics: Feminist Action in Canadian High Schools PDF

15 Dress Codes as Gender Politics: Feminist Action in Canadian High...

15 Dress Codes as Gender Politics: Feminist Action in Canadian High Schools Rebecca Raby and Shauna Pomerantz LEARNING OBJECTIVES To learn about a social issue that has been brought to the public’s attention through the activism of young people To identify shifts over time in how young people have responded to school rules To recognize young activists’ specific concerns that dress codes and their enforcement are linked to gender inequality, sexism, and rape culture To recognize the role of both the established media and social media in shaping a social issue INTRODUCTION “Your school district contributes to rape culture” (Youth Feminists, 2014). This is how a group of girls in Fredericton, New Brunswick, opened their 2014 Change.org petition calling for their school district to “abolish the dress code and create a sexual assault poli- cy” (Youth Feminists, 2014). Their petition included a video of girls speaking out against Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. dress codes for sexualizing young women. They raised concerns about the policing of girls’ dress within a broader rape culture, where women are sexually assaulted but few rapists end up in prison. They spoke forcefully about an injustice—that their school dress code sexualized and blamed young women, while their school district did not even have a sexual assault policy. These girls and other supporting students then held a walkout at their school, garnering attention from local and national news outlets. The three girls were then suspended. Feelings of frustration were high, as the girls felt that their at- tempts to address a serious concern in their school had been ignored, and now they were being punished. This story has a somewhat happy ending, however. In part due to the The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  294 SECTION III INEQUALITIES AND INTERSECTIONS skills of a mediating teacher, three months later, the young women were working with school administrators to draft a sexual assault policy for the district, although the dress code remained (Poitras, 2015). This protest was far from an isolated incident. In 2014 and 2015 there was a surge in actions against dress codes in Canada, the United States, and overseas. Led by girls, in Canada these protests included putting up posters around school, turning to social and traditional media, and inviting other students to resist dress codes in solidarity. This explosion of student activism, a particularly active and engaged form of participation expressly focused on making social change, gained significant media attention and com- mentary. Some celebrated the students’ commitment to addressing their concerns and drawing attention to a legitimate social issue (“Check Dress Codes,” 2015; Pomerantz & Raby, 2015; Strapagiel, 2015), while others suggested that the protesters were spoiled attention-seekers who unfairly played the “equal rights card” over a hollow goal, instead of addressing more significant social issues (Blizzard, 2015; Culic, 2015; Wente, 2015). As researchers who have been studying dress codes for over a decade and speaking out frequently on dress codes in the press, we have seen a shift in the kinds of protests taking place and in the ways young people are framing their concerns about these school rules. We argue that these more recent actions are important instances of young people’s activism that mark a groundswell of student engagement with concerns about sexism. Dress code protests are certainly not new (e.g. see Schrum, 2004). Yet, as we illustrate through a review of news articles about actions challenging dress codes across Canada since 2000, the number and style of actions, and the language used in them, are pow- erful examples of young feminist activism. Rather than dismissing challenges against dress codes as a hollow battleground, we begin from the position that such actions are political and valuable instances of young people’s participation—in both the democratic life of their school and in addressing the everyday sexism and objectification to which girls are subject. YOUNG ACTIVISM AND FEMINISM IN CANADA A popular belief about young people today is that they are disengaged from civic in- Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. volvement (e.g. see Kennelly, 2011a). For instance, it has been repeatedly reported that in Western countries, young people are less likely than adults to join political parties or other established organizations that are interested in working towards social change; and among those who are old enough, young people are less likely to vote (Barnes & Virgint, 2010; Henn, Weinstein, & Wring, 2002; Putnam, 2000). Researchers also suggest that young people have become more individualized and private in their ac- tivities, and disconnected from community (Furlong & Cartmel, 2007). In response, various governments have instituted mandatory civics education that tends to emphasize a narrow, conservative conceptualization of citizenship (Kennelly, 2011b). Yet others The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  Chapter 15 Dress Codes as Gender Politics 295 have countered that youth civic engagement is not dead—it is simply oriented in dif- ferent directions than towards more traditionally established organizations and ven- ues (Gauthier, 2003; O’Neill, 2007; Skelton & Valentine, 2003). Instead, young people are involved in extensive volunteer work, joining movements that are short-term and issue-based, and often participating in politics online (Buckingham, 2000; Keller, 2015; Kellner & Kim, 2010; O’Neill, 2007; Rheingold, 2008). In the last 20 years, concerns have arisen within feminist circles that there has been a similar decline in feminist activism (e.g. Bellafante, 1998; Budgeon, 2015; see also Pomerantz, Currie, & Kelly, 2004, for discussion). Young women, especially, have been seen as increasingly unwilling to identify themselves as feminists, often premised on the opinion that we now live in an era of neoliberalism and post-feminism, where gender equality has been achieved (Currie, Kelly, & Pomerantz, 2009; McRobbie, 2009; Pomerantz, Raby, & Stefanik, 2013; Scharff, 2011). Examples of such denunciations of feminism continue. For example, daily we see young women posting to the Women Against Feminism Tumblr, denying gender inequality and speaking out against the victim-status that they presume feminism to require (Women Against Feminism, n.d.). Others counter that while young women may not identify as feminists, their concerns with gender inequality take forms that look different from more traditional feminist resistance—for example, a focus on bodily freedoms, fluidity of identity, playful en- gagement with popular culture, and/or recognition of multiple identities including those based on intersections of race and sexuality (Harris, 2008). Some are, in turn, critical of what is seen as a new expression of “choice feminism,” with a problematic and depoliticized focus on individualism over collective, equality-seeking feminist pol- itics (Budgeon, 2015; McRobbie, 2009; see also Ringrose, 2013, for discussion). When looking more specifically at dress, young women have been criticized for embracing an understanding of feminism that seems to simply celebrate dressing in sexualized cloth- ing (e.g. Wente, 2015; Levy, 2005), or wearing provocative dress in order to challenge slut-shaming (see Church, 2011). In this chapter, we start from the premise that young people are embedded in material conditions, social structures, and discourses that shape how they come to see themselves, how others see them, and what is considered possible. For example, as we are looking at young people challenging school rules, we need to first recognize Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. that students are embedded in the school as a physical, bureaucratic, and hierarchical institution charged with containing and educating large numbers of students. Schools, and young people’s experiences within them, are also shaped by broader dominant dis- courses, including powerful neoliberal and post-feminist emphases on the centrality of the individual over the collective, and denial of gender and other inequalities (see Gill & Scharff, 2011). Further, young people are embedded in dominant constructions of what it means to be a teenager, including pervasive assumptions that they are im- mature, irresponsible, incomplete, potential trouble, and at risk (Lesko, 2001; Raby, 2002; Raby & Raddon, 2015). The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  296 SECTION III INEQUALITIES AND INTERSECTIONS Young people are not automatons within these structures and discourses, however. Rival experiences, including those emerging through structural inequalities (e.g. see Ferguson, 2001), related dispositions (Bourdieu, 1983/2001), and exposure to compet- ing discourses, such as those found in media outlets and peer groups (e.g. see Dickar, 2008), can clash with the dominant structures and belief systems of schools, and these shape how young people think about themselves, their schools, and broader social issues. Young people are not simply moulded by these forces; they play a part in both reproduc- ing and challenging them. In other words, young people are participants in the produc- tion of their social worlds (Harris, 2008; James, 2009; Keller, 2015; Wyness, 2006). This participation is embedded in mundane, day-to-day life; it can also be more dramatic, forceful, and resistant, as we see with student actions against dress codes. Through schools, young Canadians are often involved in charitable enterprises, community-based volunteering, and sometimes more political activism work, such as social justice and environmental clubs. Interestingly, however, points of confrontation within the school most commonly arise around codes of conduct, which cover rules from banning drugs and alcohol to determining where students can go during the day and what they can wear (Raby, 2012). While students may take issue with various rules in their school, the frequent “hot” issue is dress. Dress codes outline what kind of stu- dent the school considers respectable, appropriate, or normal. This hidden curriculum (Glossary of Education Reform, 2016) often includes narrow ideals of gender, race, class, and sexuality (Schrum, 2004; Pomerantz, 2007; Raby 2005, 2012). For example, dress codes can be productive of certain preferred citizens—such as those who are compliant and oriented towards working in an office—but also preferred presentations of gen- der and sexuality. School staff attempt to enforce these ideals among diverse student bodies with differing cultural backgrounds, classes, and personal tastes (Morris, 2005; Pomerantz, 2008; Raby, 2012), and among students who frequently consider the logic behind etiquette rules, such as those about dress, to be unconvincing (Thornberg, 2008). METHODOLOGY To examine recent changes in young people’s confrontations with their school dress codes, Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. we conducted a textual analysis of Canadian student actions and protests against dress codes since 2000. While a smattering of protests and other actions around dress codes occurred in the 1990s and 2000s, there was a significant surge in action, conflict, and commentary in 2014 and 2015. We conducted widespread online searches to find articles on dress code protests in Canada in order to explore the explosion in actions during a par- ticular time period. We focused on changes in the form of the conflicts and the commen- tary about them. We specifically looked for articles addressing moments when students went public against their school’s dress code and/or its enforcement, through things like speaking to the press, walking out of class, making a video, or putting up posters. The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  Chapter 15 Dress Codes as Gender Politics 297 After a general online search for newspaper articles between 2000 and 2015, using the terms Canada, school, and dress code protest, and the creation of a Google timeline on Canadian school dress code protests, we focused our searches on more specific top- ics. For example, if the initial search yielded an article on a “crop top” protest, then a Google search was done on this topic and related links to find additional articles. Next, the Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA) Database was used to search for Canad* AND “dress code” AND school OR education AND protest OR challeng* be- tween 2000 and 2015 to find articles that may not have been uncovered via the Google search. The Canadian Newsstand Database was then used to search for articles related to school, education, dress code, and protest between 2000 and 2015 to uncover remaining ar- ticles that may have still escaped us. The Ontario Community Newspapers database was used to search for school dress code between 2000 and 2015 as well. Finally, the Canadian Periodical Index Quarterly (CPIQ ) database was used to search for Canad* AND “dress code” AND school OR education AND protest OR challeng* between 2000 and 2015. While our searches will have missed unreported actions and those not picked up by our search words, these extensive searches yielded a total of 63 articles, covering 27 protests, with the bulk of the protests occurring in 2014 or 2015 (see table 15.1). The news articles were analyzed for key themes. The articles were first organized by which part of the dress code was being challenged and how (e.g. “crop top” protest), the date of the protest, key words, and the reporting of specific comments from students and administrators. The articles were then reviewed a second time with a particular focus on dress code protests that concentrated on girls’ dress, coupled with patterns among the comments in older and newer news articles. In examining these articles, we were partic- ularly interested in exploring quotations from student participants when they provided reasons for their actions, as well as the official school response (e.g. from principals), in order to note whether and how arguments shifted over time. Of course, when students or administrators speak to journalists, they do not get to choose what parts of their con- versations will be quoted or how—we are thus working with a selective part of the wider conversations students and administrators had around dress code actions. Table 15.1: Summary of Findings Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. 2001 *April 13, Hamilton, ON: Students organized a knee-high day when their school banned knee-high socks. (2 protests/actions, 2 news articles) * May 2, Abbotsford, BC: Students protested against the introduction of a new dress code. 2002 * April 20, Markham, ON: Grade 11 student, Shae Ayerhart, organized a protest against the introduction of a dress (1 protest/action, 1 news code. article) 2003 * September 21, Edmonton, AB: Students protested against the introduction of a dress code. (2 protests/actions, 2 news articles) * October 27, Red Deer, AB: Students responded to a school crackdown on “extremes” in clothing. Continued The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  298 SECTION III INEQUALITIES AND INTERSECTIONS 2004 * April 3, Winnipeg, MB: Students went to the press after their school banned pyjama pants. (1 protest/action, 2 news articles) 2007 * September 6, Halifax, NS: A school retreated from an at- tempt to ban hoodies after student-and-parent protest. (1 protest/action, 1 news article) 2009 * January 6, Moncton, NB: Students started a Facebook group in response to their school banning sweatpants. (1 protest/action, 1 news article) 2011 * November 30, Barrhaven, ON: Students reacted to school banning yoga pants unless worn with a long (1 protest/action, 1 news T-shirt. article) 2012 * April 23, Halifax, NS: A number of girls showed up in (3 protests/actions, 3 news yoga pants and leggings to protest their school’s ban on articles) these items of clothing. * March 23, Pickering, ON: Students protested when their school banned shorts on dress-down day. * June 30, Abbotsford, BC: Girls circulated petitions against their dress code. 2014 * May 13, Montreal, QC: Lindsey Stocker was singled out in a school-wide dress code sweep. She faced suspen- (5 protests/actions, 22 news articles) sion after she then put posters up around her school critical of the fact that girls were being shamed for their bodies. * May 14, Truro, NS: Makayla King and other girls were disciplined for wearing shorts that were too short. Her mother started an online petition and a boy staged a protest by wearing girls’ shorts to school. * May 27, Ottawa, ON: Tallie Doyle wore a spaghetti-strap top to school to challenge her school’s dress code. * May 29, Menihek, NL: Over 20 girls and 2 boys were sent home from their school for wearing tank tops. * November 17, Fredericton, NB: The Fredericton Youth Feminists developed a video advocating an end to their Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. school’s dress code. 2015 * May 1, Trenton, ON: Cynthia Hazelwood was suspended (10 protests/actions,1 28 for 24 hours for wearing a sundress that revealed her shoulders. news articles) * May 12, Moncton, NB: Lauren Wiggins received a deten- tion for wearing a halter dress and was suspended for complaining to the vice-principal. * May 15, Guelph, ON: Students put up posters and planned a protest in response to a principal announcing that students should dress “cool and not skanky.” The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  Chapter 15 Dress Codes as Gender Politics 299 * May 26, London, ON: Laura Anderson was sent home for wearing ripped jeans and a tank top. This led to an on- line petition, the Twitter hashtag #MyBodyMyBusiness, and other students dressing in solidarity. * May 26, Etobicoke, ON: A “crop top” protest against the dress code. * May 26, North York, ON: A “crop top” protest against the dress code. * May 29, Mississauga, ON: Catholic high school students attempted a sit in after they heard that girls would not be able to wear shorts on dress-down day. The school explained that there was a misunderstanding. * June 9, St. Stephen, NB: A mother and 12-year-old daughter took to social media after the daughter was publicly asked to change because her tank top was showing. * June 15, Montreal, QC: A “crop top” protest against the dress code. * September 10, Toronto, ON: Project Slut, led by three girls, sought to end dress codes in their school and school board. These girls also sought to include the voices of students of colour, queer students, trans stu- dents, and students with larger bodies. * September 16, Ottawa, ON: A Catholic school tweaked a new rule banning ripped jeans after student protest. Note: 1. Additionally, there were three incidents of parents complaining to the press about how the dress code was used to discipline their elementary-school–aged children. Source: Rebecca Raby and Shauna Pomerantz, research project, Dress Code Activism. THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Actions around dress codes during the first decade of the twenty-first century that gained media attention were limited and largely in response to schools either introduc- ing new codes, strengthening existing ones, or more rigorously enforcing those already Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. on the books, all of which were part of a “moral panic” around girls’ styles at the time (Pomerantz, 2007). As the superintendent of Red Deer Public School District, Don Falk, noted, “there has been a liberalization in clothing trends and schools have an obligation to tighten rules” (“Red Deer,” 2003). Students responded to these changes in a range of ways and for a variety of cited reasons. In Abbotsford, British Columbia, in 2001, students wore alternative outfits to school, including one made of sticky notes, be- cause they felt that their new dress code was vague and undermined their individuality. In Markham, Ontario, in 2002, students skipped class to protest their dress code, saying that a wider range of clothing should be acceptable for comfort, especially when the The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  300 SECTION III INEQUALITIES AND INTERSECTIONS school’s air conditioner was broken. And later, in Moncton, New Brunswick, students created a Facebook group against a new ban on sweatpants in school, arguing that they should be comfortable and focused on learning rather than worrying about dressing up (“No Sweats,” 2009). Students in Winnipeg, Manitoba, cited comfort in their desire to wear pyjama pants as well. Schools countered student protests with the familiar argument that schools are like businesses (Raby, 2005, 2012). For example, in response to the protest against the new dress code in Abbotsford, the principal explained that the school is a place to learn, “not a place where you lounge in beachwear” (Proctor, 2001). Similarly, the administration in Moncton, defending its ban on sweatpants, argued that students should come to school dressed as they would for a part-time job (“No Sweats,” 2009). Administrators also emphasized the importance of rules, and the need for schools to withstand the negative influences of media trends such as MTV and Britney Spears. Only two protests stood out for specifically addressing girls’ dress during this time frame. In Hamilton, Ontario, in 2001, students held a “Knee-High Day” in response to their school’s new ban on knee-high socks. The principal was concerned that the decreas- ing length of kilts affected the morality of the school and tarnished the school’s image, as people could see girls’ underwear when the girls bent over. Students felt that the rule was unfair because it was only a small group of girls who wore their skirts short, and knee high socks were more comfortable (and cheaper) than tights. In the second instance, a new dress code was introduced in Edmonton, Alberta, in 2003, banning any kind of revealing dress, including crop tops and low-riding pants. In protest, boys came to school wearing crop tops and showing their boxers. One grade 12 female student, Dana Coombes, said, “now, all of a sudden, we have to change just because a little bit of our stomach is showing. We should be able to wear whatever we want” (Sinnema, 2003). Another newspaper article that was not about a specific protest, but was published in 2002, suggested that girls were disproportionately sent home from school for breaking dress codes, raised concerns that larger-breasted girls were being unfairly targeted, and argued that it is men’s reactions to how girls dress, and not the dress itself, that is the issue (Page, 2002). Though few in number, these articles exhibit the emergence of a feminist argument. Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. MORE RECENT PROTESTS Our survey of news articles illustrates a change in the frequency and content of actions in Canada starting in 2011, and then a significant surge in 2014 and 2015, particularly in terms of actions articulated around gender discrimination. Near the end of 2011, at a school in Barrhaven, Ontario, students pushed back when their school’s administra- tion banned them from wearing yoga pants unless accompanied by a long T-shirt. The next year a similar incident arose in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Also in 2012, students at a Catholic school in Pickering, Ontario, were told that they were not allowed to wear The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  Chapter 15 Dress Codes as Gender Politics 301 shorts on their dress-down days, but boys and girls showed up in shorts anyway, result- ing in 63 students being sent home to change. And at a middle school in Abbotsford, British Columbia, girls circulated two petitions requesting that their school administra- tion amend what they saw as an overly restrictive and unrealistic dress code, given the summer weather and what was available in stores. In May 2014 the issue of dress codes hit centre stage. In Montreal, Quebec, student Lindsey Stocker was singled out as part of a school-wide sweep for dress code violations. After being told to change because her shorts were too short, she put posters up around her school that said, “Don’t humiliate her because she is wearing shorts. It’s hot outside. Instead of shaming girls for their bodies, teach boys that girls are not sexual objects” (Kelly, 2014). These actions earned her a one-day suspension. The next day, in Truro, Nova Scotia, Makayla King and her mother started an online petition when Makayla and other girls were disciplined for wearing short shorts (O’Connor, 2014). Later in May, Tallie Doyle, a grade 8 student in Ottawa, Ontario, intentionally challenged her school’s dress code by wearing a spaghetti-strap top to school, and in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, students went to the press when more than twenty girls and two boys were sent home from their school for wearing tank tops. This was the same year that the Fredericton Youth Feminist group, introduced at the beginning of this chapter, posted its Change.org petition. In 2015, even more actions emerged. In London, Ontario, when grade 12 student Laura Anderson was sent home for wearing ripped jeans and a tank top, students started an online petition, introduced the hashtag #MyBodyMyBusiness, and showed up to school in similar clothes in solidarity. Students went to the press after getting in trouble for their outfits in Moncton, New Brunswick; St. Stephen, New Brunswick; and Trenton, Ontario. In Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, students held “crop top” days to protest their dress codes, while another group of students held a demonstration when their Catholic school discussed banning shorts on dress-down days. At about the same time, students in Guelph planned a protest in response to a principal’s comments that students should be dressing “cool and not skanky” (Seto, 2015). A school board in Ottawa also eventually tweaked a new rule banning ripped jeans after a school protest. Finally, in 2015, three Toronto girls started a group called Project Slut, which petitioned their school and school board to end dress codes. The girls called for activism and commentary around dress code Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. injustices to include the voices of students of colour, queer students, trans students, and students with larger bodies, all of whom might feel less comfortable speaking up. Additional incidents involved parents complaining to the press about how the dress code was used to discipline their elementary-school–aged children. One case in New Brunswick involved a 10-year-old girl who was told her shirt was inappropri- ate because it rode up while she was skipping. In Regina, Saskatchewan, students as young as grade 4 were not allowed to wear tank tops, and in Mississauga, Ontario, a grade 7 student’s mother went to the press after her daughter was sent home three days in a row for breaking the dress code. The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  302 SECTION III INEQUALITIES AND INTERSECTIONS PATTERNS IN THE PROTESTS These more recent protests generally arose during the warmer months, and almost all occurred in response to schools enforcing their dress codes with girls. In many of the newspaper articles in which specific girls were challenging the rules, their mothers, and sometimes their fathers, were cited as supporting their daughters. Most notably, the language of the later protests was also significantly different from earlier protests. While some of the actions still emphasized the importance of individual choice and comfort, most drew attention to gender inequalities. Five dominant concerns arose. First, there were frequent comments suggesting that the process of being singled out was, in essence, shaming. As Lindsey Stocker explained after she was called out for her dress, “It was in front of my entire class … I felt attacked, it was humiliating” (Kelly, 2014). Naomi Scott felt similarly embarrassed for being singled out (Gowan, 2015), while Laura Anderson more generally suggested that schools “pick and choose who gets shamed for what they are wearing” (“Dress Code in Question,” 2015). In a climate where girls must carefully negotiate the line between being comfortable and attractive, but not too revealing, being publicly singled out and told that they are dressing too provocatively stood out for many of the girls as a form of slut-shaming and sexism. Second, many noted that girls were more likely than boys to be singled out for dress code infractions. While administrators often emphasize that the school rules are gender- neutral, sometimes the codes themselves betray an emphasis on girls’ bodies and dress, and the policing of the dress codes tends to focus on girls (Raby, 2010, 2012). As Alexi Halket said, after being sent home for wearing a crop top to school, there is an unfair double standard at play when “there are males in gym class and on the back field running around shirtless” (Russell, 2015). After some twenty-eight girls and two boys were sent home for dress code infractions at Menihek High School, various students spoke to the press, saying that while the policy may seem neutral, the focus is really on girls. This impression was reinforced by school announcements that if girls wore revealing shirts, it would be a problem for boys. As Danielle Matias said, girls are told that if they wear certain shirts, “male students will take it the wrong way” (“Menihek High,” 2014). This last observation links to the third pattern, which is that girls were frequent- ly told that their dress was specifically distracting to boys. When grade 8 student Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. Makayla King was sent to the principal’s office due to the length of her shorts, the vice-principal reportedly said her shorts “were a distraction to the male population of the school” (O’Connor, 2014), which she objected to. In another example, a petition that was started in support of Laura Anderson noted that the school should recon- sider the line in their school’s dress code stating, “clothing must not be inappropri- ately revealing” (“London Student,” 2015). Of the incident, Laura Anderson said, “If it’s distracting, it’s distracting because we’re over-sexualizing other people’s bodies” (Dubinski, 2015) and a boy added, “We are not savages [sic] or brutes who see a girl and have to look down her shirt” (Dubinski, 2015). The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  Chapter 15 Dress Codes as Gender Politics 303 Fourth, girls felt that the tone of the dress code enforcement suggested that girls and women are held responsible for their own sexual harassment, and that instead, boys and men should be taught not to harass girls. As one student in Mississauga, Ontario, put it, “Men should be taught not to rape instead of teaching women not to get raped” (“Mississauga Students,” 2015). This was a key position behind the Youth Feminists of Fredericton’s petition when they asked why there was a dress code policy but not a sexual harassment policy at their school. Finally, and most dominantly, the students frequently and critically noted that schools were communicating that girls are viewed as sexual objects. This was a central concern for Alexi Halket, who organized the “crop top” protest in Toronto and felt that women should be respected regardless of their dress, rather than being “objec- tified and sexualized” (Stern, 2015). Ashlyn Nicolle, in London, Ontario, similarly argued that “The sexualization of a teenage girl’s body is not her problem, it is the problem of those who choose to sexualize a 17-year-old’s body” (“London Student,” 2015). These comments reflect an overall pattern of commentary from girls, and some boys: dress codes disproportionately and problematically regulate girls’ bodies. As 16-year-old Montreal student Raphaelle Lalonde argued, “We find that the way the dress code is enforced is sexist, and it promotes the message that girls should be pun- ished for their bodies and we don’t think that’s ok” (“Montreal High School,” 2015). Lindsey Stoker’s view was that schools are contributing to a pervasive rape culture without even realizing it (Kelly, 2014). These were strong, unambiguous statements criticizing a culture of gender discrimination. In contrast, with some notable exceptions, the explanations given by most school administrators did not change much over time. Schools and school board personnel con- tinued to iterate the need to treat the school like a workplace, even though this argument is often unconvincing to high school students (Raby, 2012). Others echoed the Ottawa District School Board’s position that “This student dress policy is based on the expec- tation that schools shall be safe and respectful learning environments” (McKay, 2015). Another argument used by school personnel was that students should simply obey any school rule, and follow the “proper” channels for raising concerns, rather than engaging in protests, although such avenues are frequently unclear and largely unarticulated to students (Raby, 2012). In fact, students were frequently disciplined for simply speaking Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. out against the school’s dress code enforcement. A few administrators took a somewhat different tack, suggesting that it is accept- able and even valuable for students to critically engage with the rules. For example, in response to the crop top protest in Etobicoke, Ontario, Principal Rob McKinnon invited students to discuss the issues and told the press that critical thinking is im- portant (Casey, 2015). He still affirmed that “It’s about appropriate dress for this setting, not sexualizing students or objectifying them, but what’s OK in school” (Russell, 2015), but he welcomed the discussion. His statement was echoed by the school board’s spokesperson who said that “when they delve into the professional The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  304 SECTION III INEQUALITIES AND INTERSECTIONS world, students will quickly find that it is not appropriate to show up in a sports bra or a crop top. [However], we encourage kids to think critically and speak their minds” (Deschamps, 2015). FEMINIST ACTIVISM Through this examination of student actions against dress codes and their enforcement in Canadian schools, we see a significant increase in 2014 and 2015, largely fuelled by student concerns about gender discrimination and the sexual objectification of girls and women. Counter to the argument that young people are politically unengaged, these actions illustrate young people standing up for an issue that concerns them. While to some, dress code protests may seem focused on a trivial matter—dress—and teen rebels posturing for the media (e.g. Blizzard, 2015; Wente, 2015), we argue that the statements being made by these young people are examples of political, collective, and feminist ac- tion. As Alexi Halket, who organized the crop top protest in Etobicoke, Ontario, stated, “‘I’m definitely not a bratty teenager, or someone being disrespectful.… This whole thing was about women’s freedom, rights, and the fact that our bodies are objectified and sexualized’” (Stern, 2015). The young women initiating dress code protests had grown up in a so-called post-feminist milieu, where gender equality had supposedly been accomplished (Budgeon, 2015; Currie et al., 2009; McRobbie, 2009; Scharff, 2011), and yet they were also seeing prominent and more personal examples of sexual harassment and sexism, which proved otherwise. Cases of campus sexual assaults in the United States were cir- culating through the news in 2014 and 2015, and early in May 2015 a scandal erupted at Dalhousie University when it was found that 13 dentistry students had been involved in sexually harassing female classmates on Facebook (see e.g. Taylor, 2015). During 2014 and 2015, a number of women came forward to report that they had been sexually as- saulted at the hands of the prominent CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi (Donovan, 2014) and in 2015 much media attention focused on allegations of sexual assault against actor Bill Cosby (O’Connor, 2015). It was also in the spring of 2015 that frequent news arti- cles critically reported on female journalists across Canada being interrupted by young Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. men shouting FHRITP, or “fuck her right in the pussy” (“FHRITP Phenomenon,” 2015). In May of 2014, Canadians heard disturbing news of a young man shooting a group of young women sitting outside a sorority in California after saying, “I don’t know why you girls aren’t attracted to me, but I will punish you all for it” (Boniello, Li, Italiano, & Massarella, 2014). This incident was even cited by a girl involved in one of the dress code protests as an example of ongoing sexism that was a concern to her (Kelly, 2014). In 2013, the suicide of Cole Harbour District High School student Rehtaeh Parsons, after the online distribution of photos of her alleged gang rape, drew attention to sexual assault and cyber-bullying (“Rape, Bullying,” 2013), especially as it was right The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  Chapter 15 Dress Codes as Gender Politics 305 on the heels of the suicide of Amanda Todd the year before, who had been blackmailed after showing her breasts to a man via webcam (“Weeks After,” 2012). These incidents all occurred against a broader backdrop of ongoing concerns about gender inequality, including sexual harassment in high schools (e.g. Safe Schools Action Team, 2008) and ongoing concern about unequal pay for men and women (Zamon, 2015). In such a climate, girls’ anger and activism make sense. As Lauren Wiggins, a teen sent home for exposing her shoulders, said, “I’m tired of the unjust standards that we as women are held up to. I’m tired of the discrimination against our bodies, and I’m absolutely fed up with comments that make us feel like we can’t be comfortable without being provoca- tive” (“Lauren Wiggins, Moncton Teen,” 2015). Dress code actions also arose in the context of media and Internet responses to these kinds of events, many problematizing the sexism underlying all of these incidents. Most notable was the advent of SlutWalk, which emerged in 2011 as a large-scale protest after a police officer at York University said that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized” (Millar, 2011). The ensuing feminist response involved people taking to the streets wearing “provocative” clothing and carrying placards that were loud and clear—women should be able to wear what they want without fear of sexual assault. SlutWalk spread around the world, as women and men protested against clothing as an excuse for rape. Recent student actions have been facilitated by new Internet applications and trends. Stories of gender inequality, and of political responses to that inequality, cir- culate quickly through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram. And responsive actions, such as protests, can be similarly shared and communicated through these multimedia platforms. Experiences at one school can thus quickly be shared with students at another. Rather than being an example of what some have dis- paragingly termed the “slacktivism” of the current online generation (Gilmore, 2014), these dress code actions indicate how young people understand social media as a power- ful platform for protest, and also how online and “on the ground” are brought together to make social change (see e.g. Kearney, 2006). One thing that has been less likely to come up in these dress code protests is ac- knowledgment of intersectional issues that work alongside gender, the kinds of issues that Project Slut points to (Strapagiel, 2015). Terms like skanky are not just gendered, for Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. example, but are also about class-based judgments about dress, and school references to students’ future workplaces presuppose middle-class work environments (Raby, 2012). Similarly, race-based inequalities in meting out school discipline have been documented in both the United States and Canada (Morris, 2005; Ferguson, 2001; see also Raby, 2012), and there is evidence in the United States that Black students are more likely to be disciplined for dress code violations (Tsai, 2013). It has also been observed that American schools with large numbers of minority students are more likely to have a rigid, “zero-tolerance” approach towards the rules (Verdugo, 2002) and that dress codes themselves sometimes specifically discriminate against groups of students by banning The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  306 SECTION III INEQUALITIES AND INTERSECTIONS culturally significant dress (Dickar, 2008). Such intersections of class and race are in need of further attention. In their actions against dress codes, many young people pushed back, including by intentionally breaking their dress codes. To some, these actions might look like “choice feminism” (Budgeon, 2015), where dress codes are being challenged because of an in- dividualized focus on personal choice and a misdirected desire to embrace a sexualized form of femininity that is far from liberating (Wente, 2015). But when we listen to what girls are saying, these protests are replete with feminist politics: they are about addressing a broader culture of gender inequality that scrutinizes what girls and wom- en wear, negatively judges women who are seen to be “too sexual,” and fails to address issues of sexual harassment where they lie—in the actions of perpetrators. In this light, we must ask why media pundits, and many people commenting online in response to articles about these recent student actions, have been so hostile towards young people for speaking out. Young people, and specifically young feminists, are criticized for fail- ing to be political, and yet are criticized, and sometimes even punished, for engaging in political activity. This reaction speaks to an ongoing dismissal of young people in our culture, who are not taken seriously when they speak out (Raby & Raddon, 2015), or are expected to simply obey (Raby, 2012). Unfortunately, while girls and some boys may be engaging in feminist activism vis-à-vis dress code protests, they remain largely ineffectual if adults, such as principals, parents, teachers, journalists, and academics, dis- miss them. Rather, we argue that young people have legitimate concerns and they need adults’ support. To provide this support, we need to better listen to what they are saying, and expand our ideas of what constitutes politics, activism, and feminism. CHAPTER SUMMARY Together, in this chapter, we Highlighted an explosion of young people’s activism around dress codes and their enforcement in Canadian schools. Discussed a social issue that has been brought to the public’s attention by young Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. people, specifically their concerns about dress codes and their enforcement. Reviewed shifts in Canadian students’ activism around dress codes, and the coverage of this activism in the media. Heard young people’s arguments while also analyzing the pattern of their ar- guments through a feminist lens. Drew on students’ comments in the press to recognize that their concerns have recently focused on gender inequality, sexism, and rape culture. Noted the role of social media in both informing and facilitating young peo- ple’s activism. The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  Chapter 15 Dress Codes as Gender Politics 307 STUDY QUESTIONS 1. What are the key issues highlighted by the protestors in relation to dress codes? How do schools often respond? 2. The girls argued that the application of dress codes perpetuates rape culture. What examples do they point to when they make this argument? Do you agree with them? 3. Were you ever involved in a protest at your high school? If so, what was the protest about and did you feel that the protest was successful? If not, are there any issues you wish you had protested as a high school student? 4. If you were a school principal, would you invite students to participate in creating a school dress code? What are the pros and cons of such student involvement? What are the pros and cons of having a dress code at all? 5. Do you think that dress code protests are feminist? Have the authors made a convinc- ing argument? SUGGESTED RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT Interview classmates about their opinions about dress codes, then look to see where there are patterns in their comments and where there are disagreements. Draw on these interviews to write a mock newspaper article about what university students think about dress codes today. SUGGESTED FILMS/VIDEO CLIPS Project Slut Brings Attention to Discriminatory School Dress Code www.thestar.com/opinion/2015/09/15/project-slut-brings-attention-to-discriminatory- school-dress-code.html Project Slut activist Andrea Villanueva shares a spoken-word poem, about being slut- shamed, in a Toronto subway station. Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. Moncton Takes Stand against School Dress Code www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/lauren-wiggins-moncton-teen-takes-stand- against-unjust-school-dress-code-1.3071203 CBC reports on the case of Lauren Wiggins, who was sent home for wearing a halter dress. This clip includes a response from the school administrator and also reviews other dress code protests. SlutWalks and Modern Feminism www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol-ND8oQREc The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-03 15:54:18.  308 SECTION III INEQUALITIES AND INTERSECTIONS An engaging debate about SlutWalk from The Agenda with Steve Paikin, including Su- sannah Breslin (freelance journalist and blogger), Jaclyn Friedman (Executive Director of Women, Action and the Media), Gail Dines (Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies and author of Pornland), Heather Jarvis (co-founder of SlutWalk), and Kate McPherson (Professor of History and Women’s Studies at York University). SUGGESTED WEBSITES Abolish the Dress Code and Create a Sexual Assault Policy www.change.org/p/anglophone-west-school-district-abolish-the-dress-code-and- create-a-sexual-assault-policy This link to the Change.org online petition started by the Young Feminists group in Fredericton, New Brunswick, in 2014 includes the petition and a video that they made, explaining why they wanted to launch the petition. These Teens Are Trying to End “Oppressive” Dress Codes in Toronto www.buzzfeed.com/laurenstrapagiel/a-group-of-teens-are-trying-to-end-oppressive- dress-codes-in This article focuses on how Project Slut highlights the white, middle-class, and hetero- sexist nature of current dress code media coverage. 12 Times Badass Women Fought Ridiculously Sexist Dress Codes in 2015 www.buzzfeed.com/norawhelan/girls-who-fought-against-school-dress-codes-in-2015