We return this month with our series which recaps our favorite (or least favorite) moments in gender equity from news, media, and longreads all over the internet. You’ll see installments for This Month in Gender Equity the third week of each month. If you have ideas or contributions, leave a comment or tweet at us!
Read MoreCheck back here for twice-monthly updates from AEC! We will provide you with content about current events, tips and resources, and new strategies to try in your districts, schools, and classrooms. To view ongoing and past blog series, click on the links below.
The first day of school is one of my favorite days of the year—it feels like the new year. I make lists, buy new supplies, and cheerily greet my colleagues in the hallway by chirping, “How was your summer?” This day feels full of the same possibility and promise. As on so many first days of school before (somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty of them, counting my days as both student and as teacher), I picked a first-day-of-school outfit. However, my role as a junior faculty member at a university has changed the way I choose clothing. I chose a dress in a dark color—nothing too flashy. The neckline was high and the hemline was low. I wore a cardigan to cover most of my tattoos. I wore my hair up and pinned back, wore glasses while I usually wear contacts, and wore small pearl stud earrings—all of which were an effort to communicate that I could and should be taken seriously. For purposes of comparison, I noticed that two of my male colleagues wore jeans to teach graduate students on the first night of classes.
Read MoreAnyone who is a regular reader of my blog knows that I have very strong feelings about dress codes, particularly as they pertain to holding girls accountable for the educational experience of boys. So you can only imagine my reaction to the recent spate of controversy about leggings. This week, I examine why the continuing conversation is so damaging to girls and why we should stop holding women responsible for the thoughts of men.
Read MoreThis week, the Notre Dame mother has been all over the headlines. And never you worry, we will discuss Maryann White’s letter to the editor of Notre Dame’s The Observer – Amy will talk about that next week. (For what it’s worth, my favorite response so far has been from Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse, who addressed the backlash by saying: “This anger [toward Maryann] is about bad patterns that are so entrenched that you, a woman yourself, are trying to address them in the only broken, feeble way you can imagine — by asking younger women to stop having visible butts.”) There are two other stories about dress codes that surfaced this week, which received significantly less press attention but which typify the ongoing conversation about female bodies in schools.
Read MoreThis week, I will shamelessly copy one of my favorite podcast hosts, Jon Lovett. On his weekly show, Lovett has a segment called the Rant Wheel, in which he spins the wheel and rants about whatever topic it lands on. In my modified version, I would like to rant about some of the infuriating or inspiring things we’ve seen in the news in the last couple weeks.
Read MoreThis will be my last of the argument series for a while. I have enjoyed writing it and I’m sure that I will continue to reference this series and engage many of the same topics in future blogs. For my last argument, I’m going to take on a very specific issue. Recently, student dress codes have been all over the news. So, let’s argue about them!
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