The College Fix

The University of Texas at Austin recently dealt with a controversy: its School of Nursing posted dress code signs that warned students about “wearing ‘revealing’ and ‘distracting’ clothing.” And predictably, this miffed some feminists:

“If the issue is that clothing ‘distracts,’ perhaps what the UT nursing program needs to do instead of shaming or policing the clothing of female students is to instruct those who are ‘distracted’ by such clothing to stop being distracted,” Jessica Luther, a UT alumna and Austin-based activist told the San Antonio Express-News.

The college, though admitting some of its signs were “poorly worded,” stood by its intent:

“The signs (which have been taken down) were not meant to be sexist, only to remind nursing students about the School’s dress code,” Kathryn Wiley, a spokesperson for UT’s School of Nursing told Campus Reform. “The School of Nursing is educating both men and women to go into professional clinical environments where they will be required to dress professionally.”

“It’s important to have high professional standards for the medical profession,” J.B. Bird, director of media outreach for UT, said.

And for many other professions, wouldn’t you say?

If you scour the Internet you’ll find varying opinions on dress codes, with a lot of the discussion offering various qualifiers, pro and con.

However, consider what Ms. Luther implies about some folks (OK, males, let’s just admit it) being distracted by certain clothing worn by women: Let’s dump standards of fashion decorum and professionalism, because if someone (typically, a female) wears a very revealing outfit, it is incumbent upon those around her to stay completely impassive and silent. And if they don’t, get ready for a harassment charge. Or worse.

And let’s be real — even if male coworkers or fellow students did manage to remain completely mum about someone’s scanty outfit, any sort of “inappropriate” gaze would be enough to set off the radical feminist horde.

Anti-dress code feminism is alive and well in the halls of lower ed, too. Check out some of the statements by students regarding their schools’ dress codes:

“‘Too distracting for boys’ is giving us the impression we should be guilty for what guys do.”

“It’s almost teaching us that if any guys harass us, it’s the girl’s fault.”

“I felt very attacked… and I wanted to tell them how I felt.”

“I feel judged by what I’m wearing and what I do on Sundays.”

“Whenever the excuse ‘boys will be boys’ is used, it’s just an exercise of male privilege.”

To be clear, any school official who says something like “boys will be boys,” or blames a girl’s outfit for a boy actually harassing her, is a complete idiot. And, certainly, some schools’ dress codes may not make a lot of sense (or be overly skewed towards one gender over the other). But, overall, the term common sense needs some serious consideration — not only by schools, but by students … and parents.

After all, ponder this: as a male teacher, how would you feel about informing a female student that her top was “too revealing?” Uncomfortable? Would you possibly be fearful of the student telling her parents “Mr. So-and-so was ogling me in class today”?

More to the point: Why, as a parent, would you send your daughter to school in a revealing top and skimpy shorts? Or your son in a raggedy tank top and jeans down past his ass?

While they may be successful in getting their way in school and college, students (and their parents) who insist upon “doing what they want” will simply be in for rude awakening come entrance to the real world. Best of luck complaining to your employer that its dress code is “unfair,” “biased,” or whatever else you can think of.

You’ll need it.

Dave Huber is an assistant editor of  The College Fix. He’s been involved in education for twenty-five years.

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