BRITTICISMS

“People often take to complaining about how people dress, when they’re actually bothered by something else. Dress is a kind of intellectual short-cut that allows you to get around hard problems—either real or perceived.”

29 notes 2 years ago Morehouse’s New Dress-Code - Ta-Nehisi Coates

If you haven’t been following, Morehouse is now enforcing a new dress code that bans, among other things, pants that are worn too baggy and “women’s clothing” (as in no cross-dressing). Ta-Nehisi’s point is not only valid in this case but also applicable to many other instances concerning enforced dress codes. I’ve always held this argument in terms of school dress codes. For example, the CPS enforced school dress codes some time in the 90s for a number of reasons, including, I presume, to make students look the same in order to help put an end to gang influence. However, many students, especially those in gangs, found a way around the dress codes. Changing the dress code in the school setting obviously does not address the reasons why students join gangs or why they are so influential during adolescence.
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