Are Leggings Too Distracting for Middle School?

By Lauren Rankin

Haven Middle School in Evanston, Ill., is experiencing a burgeoning student protest and an onslaught of media attention in response to reports that it has banned leggings or yoga pants for female students. The new rule about leggings has actually been in place since the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, but only recently has it been garnering so much criticism and attention.

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"Rumors that the school banned leggings and skinny jeans are not the truth," Melissa Burda, spokesperson for Haven's School District 65, told Cosmopolitan. "Students at the school are allowed to wear leggings, yoga pants, and skinny jeans. However, if leggings are worn, we ask that the shirt, short skirt, or whatever they have on top must be fingertip length."

But some Haven students and parents feel that this policy unfairly targets female students and holds them accountable for the behavior of their male classmates.

"I see dress codes as a messy attempt at controlling kids' (mostly girls) bodies rather than educating them on issues around sexuality and sexualization," Juliet Bond, whose daughter is in the seventh grade at Haven, said in an email. "And this is important because the minute we begin to tell girls that they have to cover their bodies up, or that their bodies are 'distracting,' we send a dangerous message to boys and girls."

What's more, the enforcement of the rule has itself been inconsistent, according to some Haven students and parents. On March 25, Haven held a meeting with school administrators, staff, teachers, and parents, in order to address the controversy. Students were not permitted to attend but were allowed to provide written statements regarding the policy. Burda noted that many parent in attendance were concerned not so much with the dress code itself, but the lack of consistency in how this particular rule was enforced.

In an interview with the Evanston Record, seventh-grader Lucy Shapiro shared her firsthand experience of being chastised for her dress code but not her friend, who was wearing a similar pair of athletic shorts. "I asked, 'Why just me?' and she said it was because I had a different body type than my friend."

School and district administrators maintain that the policy was never meant to police girls or make them feel self-conscious about their bodies. "The school administration and the district are very sensitive to the concerns raised about body image and how girls and boys are viewed and the fact that it's a distraction," Burda said.

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Haven is just the latest school to deal with a leggings-related controversy. In February, a Massachusetts high school attempted to ban leggings and yoga pants, calling them "distracting." Last year a California junior high made the same argument, saying many of the leggings are sheer. And in 2012, a principal at a Minnesota high school said it was "troubling" when girls wore leggings with shorter tops. "Cover your butts up," he said.

A statement on Haven's website says the dress code is intended to maintain "a standard of expectation and decorum," but because middle school boys aren't wearing leggings or yoga pants to school, opponents of the policy say there's an inherent gender disparity.

The pushback, which has included a protest on March 18 and a petition opposing the rule on leggings that currently boasts more than 500 signatures, has been organic and student-led. "The kids have been amazing! On their own and with no guidance from us, they mobilized to stand up to a policy they felt was silly and inconsistent," Bond told Cosmopolitan.

"And that is actually an expressed compliment to parents and teachers at Haven. These are smart kids shaped, guided by a smart community," Bond added.

It appears that school administrators are listening. Bond commended Haven's principal, Kathy Roberson, for being "more open to concerns by parents and students" in response to the outcry, and the district meeting on March 25 to address the issue reflects that Haven is willing to discuss this issue openly with parents.

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Haven students and parents will have to wait and see what changes are made to enforcing the policy and if that is good enough. But for the students who have galvanized around this issue and feel that it unfairly targets and polices girls and their bodies, enforcement isn't the only issue. It's a matter of girls' rights.

"The dress code is bad because we feel judged by our clothing when we should be able to express ourselves and have some rights," said Bond's seventh-grade daughter in an email. "Girls shouldn't feel like they have to dress in a way that makes boys less attracted to them because no one is asking boys to cover up."

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