Image Credit: Karis Wilson

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Norkam dress code controversy shows how far men still need to evolve

Feb 26, 2021 | 11:12 AM

THE FLAP OVER THE DRESS CODE at Norkam Secondary this week is all about evolution.

First, it’s become clear that the school district’s dress code itself has not evolved to reflect the styles of today.

Those modern styles might make older generations recoil but, objectively, they’re just fine. Styles and trends change. Get over it. When you were a kid, you didn’t want to dress like old photos of your parents either.

Karis Wilson went to school in a turtleneck underneath a spaghetti-strap dress, and that’s stylish in 2021.

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Having said that, demonizing the teacher who interpreted and enforced the dress code – whether properly or improperly – is not helpful. This individual instance should point us to much broader scale evolution needed in our society.

First, are detailed dress codes even necessary anymore?

No underwear showing, no offensive messages printed on the clothes — and call it a day.

More importantly, this brings up how disproportionately dress codes target girls and women for what they wear and how they present themselves.

Why? Because throughout history, men have not taken responsibility for policing their own imaginations.

We have made it somehow a woman’s fault if a man looks at her, thinks of sex and feels uncomfortable. The scenario is almost never reversed.

It’s textbook objectification of women.

A woman’s body is mostly the same as a man’s, but has a few key differences. Too often, if those differences are accentuated by clothing, the man will lose all regard for the woman as a fellow human worthy of dignity and respect – filling his mind with thoughts of only a potential mate.

In a public setting, the man’s conscience makes him feel uncomfortable and, instead of addressing his own thought patterns, he makes his discomfort the woman’s fault.

Here’s where evolution re-enters the conversation.

The capacity for men to regard women as equals and afford them with the same respect they would afford other men is one of the qualities that distinguishes humans from animals.

In other words, we, men, should have evolved beyond this by now. We should have evolved to the place where we can take responsibility for our own thoughts and actions and reactions.

This week, It’s Karis Wilson who was told to change. In actuality, if we respect women as much as we say, it’s men who need to change.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.