Butt-cheek skimming shorts with the word “KITTY” printed across the back and tank tops that don’t follow the famous saying, “Less is more.”
These are just a few fashion choices that have been displayed around De Anza College, and while some members of the male specimen are not complaining, other faculty, staff, and students are not enjoying the view and would prefer to see less human skin.
Some people may feel they are seeing more of a stranger’s body than they want to or should, so would the enforcement of a dress code at De Anza be the cure?
Skirts, shorts, and dresses that reach down to the finger tips, and shirts with sleeves that are required to be thicker than two inches would most definitely reduce the amount of skin seen on campus.
And if a dress code were to be enforced, it should not just be placed on women but on men too.
Many women would love to go to a P.E. class without seeing the outline of a fellow student’s package in skin-tight spandex.
Although a dress code seems like the perfect answer to not having your eyes drawn to body parts you don’t want to see, De Anza is a college, and the students on campus are adults and should have the freedom to wear what they want, whenever they want.
Yes, it can be distracting when the person giving a presentation is wearing a see-through shirt that displays a cheetah-print bra, paired with leggings that form a camel toe, but it is within our own right to wear what we want and decide how we want to present ourselves.
The privilege to wear whatever apparel one wants gives people the chance to stand out from the crowd and show the world how they want to be viewed as an individuals.
The article “Freedom of dress is a part of our freedom of expression” from catholicherald.co.uk says giving people the freedom of dress allows people to display their uniqueness to the world.
The freedom of dress also goes hand in hand with the freedom of expression, and this is a right everyone is entitled to.
According to aclu.org, the freedom of expression is not just restricted to pure speech but also symbolic speech, “nonverbal expression whose purpose is to communicate ideas.”
So whether or not someone’s clothing makes another feel uncomfortable, people are making an unspoken statement with their clothes.
An outfit may hold a special meaning to the wearer and that person deserves to voice that meaning.
Maybe the girl who wears a crop top that shows off her midriff feels empowered and confident whenever she bares her skin.
Maybe when a man sags his pants he is making the statement that he does not care about public opinion and is proud of his undergarments, so proud that he wants to show them off to the world.
No matter what message they are trying to send, every person has the right to wear whatever clothes they like, and no one should question their decision to do so, or take away that choice.
As adults, we should be able to make decisions for ourselves and be able to wear whatever our hearts desire.
