at my old school

we had no uniform

but there was a dress code

girls could not show midriffs

or shoulders

pants could not show your legs

and skirts couldn’t rise above fingertip length

tank tops and cropped shirts

jeans with rips and “too-short” skirts

were forbidden

they were “distracting”

boys could not wear hats

that was it

boys couldn’t wear

hats

they were forbidden

do you know the number of boys

who showed up in the morning

in tank tops?

the exact item girls couldn’t wear

the boys would come to school

absent of shirts

and the teachers would let it pass by

one day i went to school

in a tank top and a skirt

it was 98 degrees outside

i was hot

i was sent home to change

i was distracting the boys

the same boys who walked in

with no shirt at all

i was in third grade when that happened

i transferred to an all girls school after fifth

it was more of the same

i couldn’t wear my skirt above fingertip length

i was distracting

the only boy there was my history teacher

who wouldn’t stop staring

so i pulled my skirt down

and wore a sweatshirt

because i was scared of his staring

i was in seventh grade when that happened

i used to despise the dress code

i still despise the dress code

but now i understand the dress code

(at least the girls part)

it’s to protect us

it’s unfair but it’s to protect us

from creeps like my teacher

i wish we didn’t need a dress code to be safe

but that’s the way the world works

dress codes don’t just belong to schools

they’re everywhere

ever present in your mind

always