This year, schools in the Monroe County Community School Corporation will see an alteration in their dress codes because of the work of a group of motivated young women from Tri-North Middle School.
These students led a peaceful protest that included students wearing t-shirts bearing the effort's mission. In doing so, they opposed the patriarchal tradition of school dress codes that unfairly target girls and young women.
Following their victorious protests, the school changed its policies to allow for students to wear shoulder-exposing tops and bottoms that are shorter than fingertip-length.
The young women from Tri-North not only saw success after their protests, but they also saw firsthand that they can be leaders in their communities. This small success at such a young age can encourage women to be civically engaged and driven for the rest of their lives.
Research from Child Trends, a nonprofit research association that focuses on youth behavior, shows that people who are civically involved with causes at a young age tend to continue to be engaged throughout their lives. This includes habits like voting, volunteering and advocating for change in their communities.
The young women from Tri-North are doing exactly that.
They collaborated with classmates across the school to — completely compliant with dress codes — sport homemade T-shirts with slogans like ‘not distracting’ and ‘not distracted.’
The students stood up for their right to be comfortable and to not be objectified by school policies, and, in turn, received the encouragement of having their proposed changes realized that can act as reinforcement to stand up for the issues that concern them in the future.
The idea that young women wearing clothing that exposes their shoulders or the few inches of skin above their knees somehow distracts other students from their work is archaic. And these middle school students knew that.
The dress code also feeds directly into the concept that young people, specifically young men, cannot help themselves when they see a woman's body. That is perpetuating gender stereotypes on all fronts.
With so many young people feeling apathetic about both politics and stimulating changes on a community level, it is important to celebrate the small victories that have come about through groups of people realizing challenges and striving for change.
At the risk of sounding cheesy, young people are the future.
In a time in which mass devastation seems as prevalent and as commonplace as celebrity gossip, it is nice to know that there is a generation of people that care about enacting thoughtful change when faced with unfair conditions.
Getting young people involved now can have a positive affect on voting, too. These students are growing up to be responsible citizens engaged in the democratic process.
Success in this small dress code alteration could mean that one of those students receives enough positive reinforcement to lobby Congress, attend a city council meeting or at the very least vote in elections.
Not only are the dress code changes a small success for feminism, but they can also foster a drive for civic action that will be a light in our uncertain future.
meickhof@indiana.edu
@maggie_eickhoff
