Dress codes are a point of controversy within many school districts,raising questions of classism, racism, and conformity. For trans* students, that conformity may come at the cost of their gender identity, a cost which can cause negative reverberations throughout their life, including lowered academic performance, higher dropout rates, and increased disciplinary action. This article in the American University Washington College of Law Journal of Social Policy, Gender & the Law discusses the relationship between gender norms and dress codes, how gender-restrictive dress codes lead to targeting of trans* students, and how this targeting pushes students into the school to prison pipeline.
Author Deanna Glickman is a 2015 Gideon’s Promise Law School Partnership Project Fellow practicing in the Robeson County Public Defender’s Office.
For more information about juvenile defense, the celebration of In re Gault, and protecting the rights of LGBTQ youth, please see below:
Comments