A group of boys in College Heights Secondary School in British Columbia has recently gone viral for organizing a crop top protest. Initially posted by one of the students named Mason Boudreau, 17, on TikTok, the video amassed over two million views and received tons of support.
This post may include affiliate links.
“Girls at my high school just got dress coded for the dumbest reasons, like ripped jeans or a rip too high or wearing leggings,” he said. So he gathered a group of boys and showed up to school in crop tops or other “scandalous clothing.” They wanted to find out if the school principals would penalize them the same way they did girls.
And surprise, surprise! “There were probably about 15 of us… and none of us got sent home,” Mason told the press. Speaking of double standards, it turned out that sexism in school is much more systematic than sexist dress code rules.
Another TikToker, Solvej Wren, has reshared the original video of boys protesting in crop tops, praising their initiative
Image credits: solvej_wren
She said that moms are really proud of them for challenging the world that's often unfair and hostile to girls
There were about 15 boys in College Heights Secondary School in British Columbia who turned up wearing crop tops to protest the sexist dress code
Image credits: solvej_wren
Image credits: solvej_wren
Image credits: solvej_wren
Dress is broadly protected as a form of free speech under the first amendment of the Constitution, but when it comes to schools, the courts have recognized the unique needs of the school environment. Therefore, most states in the US have laws that permit schools to regulate student dress as long as the purposes of doing so are clearly connected to insuring a safe and comfortable learning environment.
On the other hand, research of the effects that dress code and school uniform policies bring is still pretty inconclusive and mixed, reports an Education Commission of the States Policy Report. Some researchers find positive effects; others claim no effects or only perceived effects.
Many people applauded the boys and said that they give us all hope in our society
Bored Panda reached out to Maggie Sunseri, a writer and book author who went viral for dismantling her high school’s sexist dress code with a YouTube documentary “Shame: A Documentary on School Dress Code.” Maggie explained that dress codes are just one example of the systemic sexism rampant in schools and broader society as a whole.
“They reinforce the notion that women are responsible for the actions of men, and also that women’s bodies are inherently sexual. This is especially problematic when applied to minors and children, as it's a form of sexualization and objectification of young, impressionable students.”
According to Maggie, “what school dress codes tell young girls is that there is something wrong with their natural bodies, and that they are responsible for men’s choices. They teach young girls to feel ashamed.”
Others pointed out how proud they are of Gen Z, a generation that often becomes a target of harsh criticism
Moreover, “being called out for a dress code violation is extremely embarrassing, and it directly impacts girls’ learning experience. When making my documentary, I was often told that dress codes are in place to prevent girls from distracting male students. This clearly places boys’ education above that of girls’, since being pulled out of the classroom and sent home to change clothes is very clearly distracting from learning.”
"Dress codes purport the idea that male students can't control themselves," which makes them also sexist towards men
But dress codes are also sexist toward men, as they purport the idea that male students can’t control themselves. “Many boys told me while making my documentary that they themselves didn’t understand the dress code and hated the idea that school administrators assumed they were predators,” Maggie said and added that “Clearly what this showed was that administrators themselves were sexualizing young girls.”
“The principal I interviewed in the documentary insinuated that girls at the last school he worked at were frequently sexually harassed because of what they wore, and that my school’s dress code was a preventative measure. This shows the sexist attitude of victim-blaming—when women and girls are told that it's their fault for being harassed or assaulted instead of the perpetrator’s.”
Recently, Maggie wrote an adult paranormal fantasy romance series, and the first two novels are now up for pre-order on Amazon and iBooks. “The Discovered” is releasing January 4th, 2022, and “The Coveted” on February 4th.
Another person said that even though she doesn't see crop top as an appropriate dressing choice for school, she's still proud of the boys
