Being my mother’s first, and only daughter when I was a child she would always dress me up and do my hair. I absolutely hated it. It lead me to dress a lot less feminine and to resist being forced into overly girly and pink. All through life people get told how to act, what to wear, and where to go. Whether it is by parents, bosses, or even the school. We now have a sexist dress code to follow. It doesn’t say which gender they are speaking about but it is most obviously veered towards women. “Short shorts, skimpy tank tops, tops that expose the midriff, and other clothing that is not in keeping with community standards,” that is a direct quote from our school’s dress code. Some schools require even more obvious sexist dressing requirements. School uniforms where girls have to wear skirts and boys only get to wear pants. School uniforms destroy self expression. Uniforms crush individuality and don’t really have a purpose. They exist for belief of good uses but they are pointless and can be easily argued against because they are actually more harmful than they are helpful.

Uniforms were created to “show school pride” and reduce bullying in the school. The first sign of them according to ProCon was in England in the year 1222. They are supposed to improve learning by reducing the great harm of dressing as yourself to show others who you are because that is too distracting to everyone in the classroom. Uniforms cost less than an entire wardrobe but I guess that means students should just wear them all of the time instead of buying comfortable clothes for outside of school, but wait they can’t afford other clothes because the average uniform costs $249 and you’ll need more than one for the school week. Plus if it isn’t exactly the uniform the school is looking for because let's say that you couldn’t afford the super expensive skirt so you bought a replica that is an inch too long, the school doesn’t care if you can afford it, they don’t want to hear your excuses, so you get punished. “They make it easier to get dressed in the morning”, that’s because you didn’t have any other clothes to choose from. Would students rather spend a couple more minutes picking out comfortable clothes that they like or take 5 to throw on an uncomfortable uniform that crushes individuality.

Uniforms to me are just very pointless. They take away the first amendment right to freedom of expression. One of the biggest cases dealing with expression was Tinker vs. Des Moines in 1920. In this case the supreme court had specifically stated “it can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Another important case Richards v. Thurston, which revolved around a boy refusing to have his hair cut shorter, the US First Circuit  Court of Appeals ruled that “compelled conformity to conventional standards of appearance” does not “seem a justifiable part of the education process.” Clothing choices are “a crucial form of self-expression.”

They are also pointless because they promote conformity over individuality. A student named Kyle Sumter from a high school in Chicago had wrote in the Huffington post, “They teach us about Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthoney, and Booker T. Washington who all had expressed themselves and conquered great challenges, yet we can’t even express ourselves in the hallway. Not to mention most uniforms are gendered girls wear skirts and boys wear pants, they are told to accept one another, yet transgendered people are forced to wear clothes that make them feel uncomfortable and extremely anxious all the time while they are at school.

Uniforms are supposed to prepare us for life by getting used to a uniform that could be required in a workplace, but actually it may be delaying student transition into adulthood. Most adults make their own clothing choices for each day. They may have to wear a uniform for their job but what about vacation, days off, or even sick days. Clothing is associated with identification which, according to the late developmental psychologist Erik Erikson, is a critical part of adolescence, and how could students find their identities when being forced to wear uniforms.
Not only are school uniforms pointless but they can be harmful as well. One of the reasons to have school uniforms is to reduce bullying. According to the PhD Tony Volk, who is an associate professor at Brock University, who co-authored a study that was peer-reviewed and found that in 2007 in most violent school across the US, uniforms increased attacks by 14% and at Texas University in 1999 found that discipline incidents had rose by 12% after uniforms became required.

There has not been any evidence of improvement of areas that uniforms were supposed to fix. David L. Brunsma, PhD, Professor of sociology at Virginia Tech co-authored a study of sophomores. He found out that there was no improvement in attendance, grades, exam results, or academic preparedness. Also that uniforms created more of a negative effect than positive, and equally ineffective for elementary schoolers and junior high students.
Not only are the uniforms pointless and harmful but the students that are forced to wear them oppose them. A peer-reviewed study by researchers at Nevada University found that 90%of students absolutely hate the uniforms. The students claim that there is no reduction in fights, they are no help with “fitting in”, and definitely no safer traveling to and from school especially those who have to take public transportation.

Honestly school required uniforms are kind of pointless, there are some positives like getting dressed quickly in the morning but I think the negatives outweigh. Students have to trade their individuality and right to expression for uncomfortable uniforms that promote conformity. There are also so many harms that come with the uniforms like less safer travels to and from school, No improvement in key areas, and no reduction in student violence. With all the harms and pointlessness, it really does drive the question “why do school uniforms exist?” Would you give up individuality for conformity?