Last week, 33 students at Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego were suspended for posting a video in which they were "twerking." Twerking is a dance move that boils down to people crouching and shaking their rear as fast as possible. Though the students used school equipment on school property to film the video during school hours, and proclaimed themselves the "Scripps Ranch Twerk Team," suspending them is an outrageous overreaction and exemplifies the ridiculous body policing that occurs in high schools across the country. These students may not be able to go to their senior prom or walk at graduation, all because of a silly YouTube video.
I am not completely absolving these students of blame. If they did not have permission to use this equipment, or if they were skipping class in order to film the video, then they should rightfully be subject to disciplinary action. However, according to the Scripps Ranch Student Handbook, the first step is for a teacher to meet with the students and decide on a course of action. Even if the video were an egregious case of truancy, "disturbing conduct," or tardiness, a meeting with the vice principal only brings suspension after scheduling a parent conference, and "tak[ing] appropriate disciplinary measures." I find it hard to believe that immediately suspending students with no prior record is appropriate action.
The egregious punishment of these students is a result of invasive body policing in American high schools. Shorts have to be of a particular length; you cannot wear that shirt or dye your hair that color. The Scripps High Student Handbook draws out a long list of various restrictions, ranging from baggy pants to indoor headgear. This is all in the interest of not "be[ing] disruptive to the educational process." Scripps in not alone in enforcing ridiculous policies; I experienced similar circumstances at my alma mater in Texas.
Claims of protecting education or respecting fellow classmates cover a base desire to control the bodies of students under guidelines of arcane sexual norms that hurt students of all genders. It is not a girl's responsibility to cover herself in order to deter distraction. It is a student's responsibility to focus on their education and not be distracted. Body policing is a tool for victim-blamers. Blue hair, low-cut dresses and backwards caps do not influence a student's education. In the unlikely chance that they do, the response is not to censor a student's self-expression; it is to discipline the unfocused student or better engage students in the classroom. Schools should no longer encourage the idea that women and men's bodies are for somebody else and can be controlled by somebody else. We dress for ourselves, to express ourselves, to make ourselves happy. It is not my responsibility to ensure that my body is pleasing or appropriate to your eyes.
It seems that administrators are afraid that if dress regulations are loosened or lifted, people will show up to school in bikinis and boxers. Yet if one looks at any other public space, one can see that these fears are unfounded. The current trend of body policing in high schools is condescending, invasive, irrelevant and grounded in stifling and oppressive gender politics.
I have seen people walking around Dartmouth wearing little to nothing or covering their entire bodies, with natural plain hair and spiked green mohawks. No style has affected my education in any way, except to maybe brighten my day when seeing the diversity of expression on campus. One can argue that college students are adults, and thus are not subject to the same restrictions placed on youth. Frankly, I do not see the difference between telling a high school senior he cannot wear baggy pants, or suspending him for twerking on campus, when he will be able to dress however he pleases six months later. Adolescence is a time of self-discovery and creativity; this growth should be encouraged, not censored. Whether it manifests in telling students how to dance or what to wear, the principle of body policing is part of the American education system's past and should not be part of its future.
