These high school boys are wearing off-the-shoulder tops to support female students

Twenty females at San Benito High School in Hollister, California were sent home for “breaking the dress code” and wearing off-the-shoulder tops. At which point the  school’s male students decided to support their fellow classmates and unite against the sexist dress code rules.

So a group of boys wore off-the-shoulder tops to school. Because, hey—it’s OK for them to show their shoulders, right?

According to one student, who asked to remain unnamed, this rule has not been enforced in the past. “The dress code policy hasn’t been an issue the past two years I have been here,” the student told Yahoo! Style.

She continued, “Administration says that it is for our own safety, but I don’t understand what they are keeping us safe from. I really don’t think that there is someone dumb enough to pull down a shirt first of all—they have no right to touch me or anyone else at all. I mean, there is no point in that. They are focusing on the less important things here.”

In a statement released by the school’s principal, he cited not wanting students to “intentionally or unintentionally be humiliated,” and wanting to promote professionalism through attire as reasons for the rules around off-the-shoulder tops.

Despite the reasoning behind the rule, a group of male students found the dress code to be quite sexist, and decided to do something about it. They showed up wearing off-the-shoulder tops to school, and the best part—they documented it on social media.

https://twitter.com/ocean__avenue_/status/897252459256598528

The photos show the boys showing up to school in the latest fashion trend. This was a great show of support for the females, but one male student, Andrei Vladimirov, wants it known that this wasn’t about the men.

https://twitter.com/andrei_418/status/897498010145267712

“A lot of people want to emphasize the male students’ part in this protest, which I respect, but the purpose of this whole thing was to protest sexism against female students,” he told Teen Vogue.

He added, “Not being able to wear a certain type of shirt may seem like a minor problem to some people, but it is representative of something much larger in society—the fact that women are still, today, being subjected to the dominance of male ideology. Women deserve to be treated with the utmost respect, and this entails being able to dress as one pleases. Women should be able to wear what they want without being systemically objectified — treated as if they have no personal sovereignty.”

These men made a powerful statement with their words, ideas and fashion sense. Bravo!