Poll: So... Why can't guys have pericings at my high school, but chicks can?

[Vault101]

short answer THE MATRIARCHY

serious answer, there are double standards in regards to gender what is/isnt seen as appropriate

nail polish and piercings are no doubt considered standard fair for the ladyfolk, when you put them on a guy they are "out there" even by todays standards, I mean lets be honest it still applys to say....an office environment

 

[Saetha]

Yeah, pretty unfair. Frankly, I think nail polish and piercings of any sort are tacky and gaudy as all hell, no matter if it's a man or a woman. But if people wanna wear 'em... *Shrug* Dunno how to go about changing that, though. I know during my senior year of high school, the students at my school had a "free the sleeves" thing, where everyone wore sleeveless shirts in an attempt to overwhelm the system, but since I and all my friends graduated, I never knew if significant change came from it. And I'm pretty doubtful that you'd get a large number of guys to pierce their ears and paint their nails to make a statement. I guess you could try doing what my school did and use that as a platform to talk about the other stuff, though. But again, I'm not even sure what they did worked.

Also, you forgot the Tumblr-esque ranting about how the school system place greater worth on girls' education over your body and how this means they obviously value girls over boys and blah blah blah patriarchy blah.

(Please note: don't actually do any of that. I hate it when Tumblr fems think disallowing girls from wearing short shorts and tube tops means they hate women, I really don't want to have to deal that from guys, too)

So... why can't guys have this? It's Texas.

You answered yourself right there didn't you? It's Texas. Not exactly the most liberal place on Earth.

As a native Texan, I was about to object to this statement until I remembered that my Facebook feed is about 80% Bible quotes and 20% blaming Obama for ruining everything about America ever.

So carry on, sir.

 

[Saika Renegade]

As a person living in Texas, I honestly feel that I can only answer with "Because it's Texas." I do part time work in the education field and I would be remiss in not noting that one major reason we don't have science textbooks declaring evolution a weak theory and espousing intelligent design as a viable alternative in the face of mountainous piles of evidence is because those of us who are evidence-based supporters are working very hard and spending most of our effort to keep the most aggressive zealots here from affecting things more than they already do.

I apologize that we haven't yet gotten to dealing with arbitrary dress codes. We're already trying to keep special interest groups from dragging much of the country down with them into an intellectual dark age thanks to upset religious sensibilities.

If you think I'm being at all facetious or defamatory, please let me point out that Texas is not only one of the largest markets for grade school textbooks in the nation due to our size and geographical influence, but that we've also had to genuinely fight to keep this kind of theological inanity out of textbooks because we're terrified of how badly we'd screw up the rest of the country.
A brief NPR article elaborating on the matter to support the point. [http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/01/269962257/texas-overhauls-textbook-approval-to-ease-tensions-over-evolution]

Short version, yes, it's an arbitrary and inane standard, but sadly the people who would otherwise support your cause are busy trying to hold keep the line against people who refuse to reject the tenets of scientific process trying to teach science down here. You might want to consider help from outside the educational system.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Eh, they probably think you're a pirate.

Or...stupid gender double standards that aren't going to go away any time soon.

But piracy would make more sense.

 

[RoonMian]

"Every person shall have the right to free development of his personality insofar as he does not violate the rights of others or offend against the constitutional order or the moral law."

Art. 2, §1 Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany

Ditch Texas and come to Germany, my friend.

Edit: Just stay out of Bavaria. It's the Texas of Germany.

 

[carnex]

Eh, social double standards. Will they ever stop?

If you were wondering, answer is no.

No, it's not OK but it's accepted standard for so long people dismiss anyone questioning it.

But you could go to school with pirate beard, 127 face piercings and in short sleeved shit, get expelled, sue them and get millions of dollars

 

[spartan231490]

It's a high school dress code, they're never fair. In fact, most of those are somewhat common in dress codes. Also, some people are saying you could fight it. Maybe, but my bet is that it would hold up. Schools are allowed to have somewhat discriminatory policies in the name of preventing disruption.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Of course you can have a piercing, and long hair and no sleeves. Dress code doesn't really mean much. All you have to do is hire a lawyer and sue the school if you think you're being discriminated against. They'll let you wear whatever you want if you so much as threaten them with a lawsuit. People just assume that something is forbidden because the thought of fighting for their rights didn't enter their mind yet.

 

[Lord Garnaat]

Yeah, I don't really see this as something worth getting worked up about. It's a school, and they're asking that students dress in a professional manner, no different from how working in an office might require you to wear a suit and not a tank top from nine to five. Schools also ask that students not swear or scream or play loud music during class, so why should another policy that's aimed to prevent disruption and foster a professional atmosphere be singled out?

Maybe you disagree with the policy, but in high school a student's only purpose is to learn and obey. They aren't adults, and until they are the people that are in charge of ensuring they grow up properly (parents, guardians, teachers) have the right to tell them what to do.

Heck, even when you are an adult, that doesn't change the fact that people tell you what to do, and you have to do it.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

School dress codes always were bullshit. They have virtually nothing to do with creating a good environment for learning, and everything to do with making sure the school looks 'respectable'. Also, making money by selling compulsory uniform items at ridiculous prices, if your school has one.

Maybe you disagree with the policy, but in high school a student's only purpose is to learn and obey. They aren't adults, and until they are the people that are in charge of ensuring they grow up properly (parents, guardians, teachers) have the right to tell them what to do.

I disagree. If you're a school staff member you have the right to make and enforce rules that contribute to a good learning environment, reduce bullying,- that have some actual thought behind them. However if you're making arbitrary rules and forcing people to follow them just because you can, or just because you're worried about your own reputation rather than your student's wellbeing, then that's unfair.

 

[Lieju]

Stupid double standards, basically.

I'd have less of a problem, or not at all, with dress-codes if they were fair and equal.
Also thinking back to my (Finnish) high school, 50% of boys looked like this

Spoiler

So 'no long hair' seems blatantly absurd to me.

Maybe you disagree with the policy, but in high school a student's only purpose is to learn and obey. They aren't adults, and until they are the people that are in charge of ensuring they grow up properly (parents, guardians, teachers) have the right to tell them what to do.

What does this kind of stuff have to with whether they 'grow up properly?'.
It's different to instruct kids to not dress untidy or smell or something.

Trying to enforce different standards for boys and girls (which can be way worse than just something like this) is not something we should just accept.

What's the school to decide what 'growing up properly' even is?

That's the kind of phrase that just makes me immediately wary, especially since this is a place like Texas...

This case might be relatively harmless, but guardians and TEACHERS definitely shouldn't just be allowed to treat kids which way they feel like to ensure they grow up 'properly'.

 

[Someone Depressing]

That's odd.

Here in Brittania, rules like that in schools are basically illegal.

Petty double standards, I suppose.

 

[Me55enger]

That's just nasty. The kind of pointless discrimination that doesn't help anybody.

Does that mean there's a form of discrimination that has a point?

I had teachers back in secondary school with more piercings than the students. Mr Hunt was a supply teacher who knew the curriculum like I know the Thai national anthem. But get his guitar out and he can hold a class for hours. Great man.

It's a daft rule based on a set of cultural cues that are long out of date. But being outside America looking in, I could apply that line to much of the country.

 

[Kotaro]

A) Guys can't have long hair
I have long hair (it's technically a ponytail) and I'd just refuse to cut it.

On-topic though, it's a double-standard that may or may not have something to do with the fact that many homosexual males "subtly" advertise that fact to other homosexual males by wearing a single earring in one ear. Reason aside, it's still a sexist (yes, you can in fact be sexist against men, though it's not as common) double-standard that shouldn't be there.

 

[Gizmo1990]

No it is not fair but you are a guy so you are not allowed to say so. When I was in Secondary School, girls did not have to wear their blazers or their ties in the summer but boys did (I am English an as such had to wear a school uniform).

I have long hair but while at work I have been told I MUST have it tied back. Women with long hair are NOT told this. I pointed this out to my boss and he said that while he agreed with me that it was unfair and discriminatory it is company policy and ther was nothing he could do about it.

For such a long time woment have been unfairly discriminated against and it is a good thing that things have improved but it sometimes feels like men ar not allowed to point out when it gos the other way.

 

[Coppernerves]

That seems awfully discriminatory. I bet you could fight it, if your parents were willing to back you up on the trouble you'd get into first. The ACLU would probably be happy to help with the legal battle, if it comes to that. Especially if you can find someone who is transgender and being kept from being herself by the policy.

But nail polish, long hair, and sleeveless shirts aren't even a real part of being female, just cultural BS put on to imply femininity.
Then again, I suppose a lot of teenagers do think of this piled on fashion stuff as a part of themselves, which makes me glad all my schools had uniforms (that's normal in the UK).

It seems like this Texas school is merely reflecting double standards held by employers, which, given that the supply of labour is now a buyers' market, seems justified to me.

 

[Something Amyss]

It's a stupid, dated rule and should be changed.

Oh, wait, I'm a feminist, so I'm supposed to reinforce the notion that a double standard is okay, if my time on the internet has taught me anything....Ummm...heregoes:

BOOO! Stop co-opting female culture, you vile oppressive oppressors!

...How did I do?

It's Texas. Not exactly the most liberal place on Earth.

Well, unless you count the cities, or the metropolitan areas. Texas has quite a progressive culture, and that really seems to scare a lot of Texans.

However, as Mabank has roughly 3,000 people, I would imagine it's still true of this school. It's just not exactly cool to paint a whole state with a single brush.

 

[BeerTent]

This largely depends on the institution.

If the institution is based off of military or honor, then being part of the uniform is part of class. You need to be the same. You are one unit. There are no special snowflakes in the military. This sucks, because in a year I'm losing my Gordon Freeman goatee. I'm not so sure how manly the tears will be, but it's gonna be fucking weird shaving my chin again.

However, this school confuses me, as I don't see any indication of military or religious culture in the small bit I've picked at in the handbook. I'm on the fence. Double standards are double standards though. If it were me, I just wouldn't give a shit. After all, I should be in a dress shirt at work. I just wear a T-shirt and nobody says anything.

 

[Crazzy349]

...How did I do?

Beautifully.

 

[Crazzy349]

This largely depends on the institution.

If the institution is based off of military or honor, then being part of the uniform is part of class. You need to be the same. You are one unit. There are no special snowflakes in the military. This sucks, because in a year I'm losing my Gordon Freeman goatee. I'm not so sure how manly the tears will be, but it's gonna be fucking weird shaving my chin again.

However, this school confuses me, as I don't see any indication of military or religious culture in the small bit I've picked at in the handbook. I'm on the fence. Double standards are double standards though. If it were me, I just wouldn't give a shit. After all, I should be in a dress shirt at work. I just wear a T-shirt and nobody says anything.

It isn't officially. But we do have a lot of vets (I think) on the school board.