Leggings, Yoga Pants Rule 'Perpetuates Shame Cycle,' Illinois Teen Says

CHATHAM, IL — A high school senior is protesting a dress code change at a suburban school district, saying it “perpetuates the victim shame cycle" and teaches girls "that their body is a problem." A new rule at Glenwood High School in Chatham doesn't ban leggings or yoga pants, but requires that teens who wear them also wear a top that "(covers) the entire buttocks."

Senior Claire Farnsworth recently launched a petition asking administrators to reconsider the rule. The petition, which so far has garnered more than 2,000 signatures, states, "The new dress code, as it is printed on the walls of the school is, 'Please check the following before entering this classroom! If you are wearing leggings or yoga pants, does your top cover your entire buttocks?'"

Farnsworth said she believes the rule is damaging to teen girls:

By censoring the bodies of young girls for the comfort of others in a place that is supposed to be safe like school, we teach them that their body is a problem. This notion causes several life long issues such as body image issues, self consciousness, and the inhibitance of speaking up when, unfortunately, sexual assault happens. When you teach girls ages 14 to 18 that their bodies belong to others in the sense that they can be controlled by others, it gives the people that prey on young girls the upper hand because victims are much less likely to speak up when they feel like it was their fault, and by making girls hide their bodies so they don't distract their peers, it perpetuates the victim shame cycle.

One person who signed the petition said the rule is "saying that male education is worth more than a females. Girls who get dress coded while 'distracting' boys have to leave the classroom and/or go home. Its extremely and utterly sexist and teaches boys that girls are giving them permission to use the body of a female by what they're wearing." (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

School officials told the State Journal-Register they disagree that the rule is sexist. Glenwood Assistant Principal Dale Wiedeman said the rule change, which appears in a new school handbook, was the work of a committee formed at the end of last school year. He said the yoga pants/leggings rule was suggested by teachers who said the ones they typically see students wear are "practically see-through," according to the Journal-Register.

Wiedeman said boys are also banned from wearing saggy pants that hang below their buttocks. He added that the committee also removed a previous rule that banned girls from wearing clothing that exposes their shoulders, saying, "we are just asking people to be professional."

Farnsworth said she intends to present the petition to the school board on Aug. 29.

Earlier this summer, another Illinois teen took action against a dress code rule she believes is sexist. A 17-year-old from Park Ridge also launched a petition blasting a dress code rule that bans exposed shoulders after her school rejected her senior picture. "I have spent a good majority of my life wondering why exactly women's shoulders are so offensive," teen Grace Goble said in her petition.

More from Patch:

• Should Yoga Pants and Leggings Be Banned in Schools?
  
• 2 Girls Denied Boarding By United For Wearing Leggings

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