Dress Codes Are Racist and Sexist and Harm Our Children

By Lakshmi Gandhi, Prism

After a group of middle schoolers in suburban Atlanta made national headlines for protesting their school’s dress code, renewed attention is being paid to how school dress codes and grooming policies disproportionately affect girls and nonbinary students—especially those who are children of color.

The ongoing protests at Simpson Middle School in Cobb County, Georgia, began when eighth grader Sophia Trevino and 15 other female students at the school were written up on the first day of school after a teacher deemed their outfits too revealing. Trevino told The New York Times that because her distressed jeans featured a rip that was higher than the tips of her fingers when her hands were placed against her thighs, she was found in violation of the rules.

“I was angry and nervous, nervous because I’ve never really been sent to the office or anything, and a little angry because my jeans are perfectly fine,” Trevino told WJCL, adding that the dress code is “way more strict on women than it is on the boys.”