“Crop Top Day” was about much more than just dress code

On May 26, an 18-year-old high school student in Toronto organized “Crop Top Day.” This was about more than rebelling against the dress codes set forth by school, it was more about how dress codes make girls feel.O

High school girls are oftentimes judged in a place where the focus should be on learning, not what they are wearing.

“Crop Top Day” was the brainchild of Alexi Halket, who remembers being sexualized back in middle school when all the girls her age started to hit puberty and were told to cover up to avoid the attention of boys. In Halket’s defense, the boys should have been told that women aren’t to be objectified, and looking at them in that way is disrespectful.

Halket also explained that it’s always the girls that are criticized more than the boys. This is a common problem, even in the adult workplace. Women are criticized more for what they wear than men are.

Last year, there was an article released about a male Australian news anchor who noticed his female co-anchor getting criticized for what she wore, while he didn’t. He conducted an experiment by wearing the same suit everyday for a year to see if he got criticized for it. He didn’t, proving this form of sexism does exist.

Halket made the event on Facebook, inviting only 300 students from her school, but to her surprise, over 500 students at her school of all genders participated. The event spread to gain participants worldwide, with the hashtag “Stand In Solidarity” on Twitter.

The event was a matter of women’s rights, for women to be able to make decisions about their bodies and the sexualization of women in today’s society. The only question that stands is: how much longer will it be until women are not sexualized by society anymore?