Dress codes have recently come under fire for too strictly adhering to gender norms. These dress code restrictions often target young girls, who are then pulled out of class and denied class time due to an outfit deemed inappropriate.
But girls aren’t the only ones who have to deal with dress codes and the problems they cause.
Now, there are more and more stories about little boys who are getting in trouble for wearing their hair long. Whether this is just a bit past the ears or hair that grows all the way down their backs, it seems like schools are having a huge problem with this issue. And parents are fighting back to point out the injustice of it.
That’s definitely the case of Faye Abunijmeh, whose son got in trouble for having long hair at school.
The boy and his mom live in Joshua, Texas.
The little boy was growing out his hair for an organization called Wigs for Kids. In order to be eligible to donate his hair, it needs to be at least 12 inches long. Therefore, he has been growing it for a while because he wants to help other kids like him who have gotten sick and no longer have hair.
While you might think that most teachers and school policymakers would applaud that kind of a move from a child so young, they didn’t exactly have that kind of a reaction.
Instead, when the boy and his mom came to the school’s open house, they told him that he might not be able to start classes until he got his hair cut.
That’s because the school dress code restricts the length of boys’ hair.
Faye was not happy with this rule. She didn’t think it made a lot of sense, especially when the boy was growing out his hair for a good cause. Therefore, she contacted the school superintendent for an explanation of why her son’s hair was such an issue.
They told her that:
“The dress code was created with input from the community. The grooming section in the dress code reflects the standards that our community holds for students in our district. While there may be differences in requirements for male and female students, all aspects were developed to teach grooming and hygiene, prevent disruption, and minimize safety hazards.”
Then, she asked them how it was a hygiene, disruption, or safety issue. She never got an answer back about a reasoning of the decision.
Faye questioned how long hair on a boy is a disruption if it’s not a problem on a girl.
This is a great point. How does having long hair keep this boy or his classmates from learning? Quite simply, it doesn’t. And therefore, it shouldn’t matter how he decides to wear his hair as long as it is clean because it’s not hurting him or anyone else.
This is just one more example of why it’s time for dress codes to change.
There is no reason that we should be following these culturally irrelevant ideas because they once meant something to culture. We have moved past these types of gender distinctions, so it’s just hurting kids at this point to keep enforcing these gendered and stereotyped norms. Hopefully, Faye can get the names on her petition she needs in order to get the rule at her son’s school changed.
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Sources: Change.org
