“It’s against my religion.”

“I don’t know, you know?”

“I’m all about traditional morals.”

“It’s just too extreme for me to be honest.”

These are thoughts shared among the corrupt youth of America today when the topic of feminism comes up in conversation. Today’s is a  generation that cares a lot more about how many likes their selfie got than standing against the ongoing oppression against women.

Far too many people believe that since this is America that they don’t really have to worry about a topic such as sexism. They think that because it’s the 21^st century and women’s rights were established in the 1920s that we are past oppression. Sadly, this is not the case.

Chauvinistic behavior is very common throughout much of the student population but is now making an appearance in school policies as well.

Students at Tottenville High School in Staten Island, New York are annoyed by the strict new dress code restricting girls from wearing shorts or tank tops. Both male and female students complained that the dress code is sexist and goes against their rights. “Tottenville should just be an all-boys school considering this dress code is only affecting the girls,” said one female student at the school. In MCPS, shorts worn by females must pass the ‘fingertip test’ but if you look at it in a way that actually makes sense, lengthening shorts by a mere centimeter won’t change the way they look on that person because obviously not everyone is the same. Everything is so specific when it comes to yoga pants and spaghetti straps, I’ve never seen anyone measure how low guys sag their pants.

The county justifies their dress codes by insisting that it teaches people how to respect themselves and keep classrooms distraction-free. However these policies actually encourage the idea that girls’ bodies are enticing to boys and it’s their responsibility to cover themselves up. This makes it seem like the “she was asking for it” excuse is fair and reasonable.  Irrational dress codes that overly target females are initiated in most schools but the judgment goes a lot deeper than just the clothes on their back.

Unfortunately, sexism does not apply only to attire as it also finds its way into the classroom.  According to the Huffington Post, Lee Shumow and Jennifer A. Schmidt, professors at Northern Illinois University, say that teachers often associate boys’ advanced skills in science class to innate ability, while they see girls’ abilities as a result of hard work. Further research by Shumow and Schmidt found that science teachers spend about 40 percent more time and attention on male students in class.

Not only does this make absolutely no sense, it also has a significant impact on the development of both male and female students. Sexism has the potential to shape the way people think and interact with others.

I’m not opposed to restricting inappropriate attire in schools, but to make so much of the issue about girls’ attire and not boys’ is unfair and discouraging.  There is a fine line between disciplining students for infractions that affect the whole school environment and those that affect only the student.  Degrading students for their choice of clothing is almost as immature as banning a kid from coming to school because of a zit. And putting a group of students on a pedestal because of their gender creates a destructive learning environment that is demoralizing and unfair.