When I was in my last year of high school the senior class was given a list of what we could and could not wear to our prom. On this list, it plainly said that the girls must wear dresses of full or tea length and the boys must wear black tie or formal military uniform. It forbade what the administration considered “funny business” which meant a girl was not allowed to wear pants of any kind and a boy could not wear a dress and still expect to be admitted to the senior prom. The administration of the school expected us to place ourselves into the framework of the gender binary and enforced a rigid interpretation of it that did not tolerate different interpretations.
In the chapter titled “Look At My Masculinity”, Pascoe shows how the school she studied did the same thing to their students through her story about Jessica Chau. The school and her social environment pressured her into wearing a dress using the excuse of tradition. She was not the kind of girl who would wear a dress and heels. She is what Pascoe might refer to as a “Dude”. Jessica wore comfortable clothing and had masculine gestures but she allowed herself to be pigeonholed into the stereotypical image of the Home Coming Queen thus fitting in with social norm.
At my own high school Shane MacDermott was not allowed to enter prom because he wore formal Scottish attire, which included a kilt. . This kilt had been in his family for generations and was the one his father wore to his wedding. It was the pride and joy of his family. The members of the administration tried to send him away because he violated the dress code by wearing a skirt. In the end the owners of the property had to step in and over rule this judgment for fear of an ethnic prejudice lawsuit.
The administration reacted according to their strict standards without considering the rest of the situation much like the Rivers High School did with Jessica. If they had removed themselves and looked objectively at the situation, then they would have seen that these interpretations are just as valid as the social standard.
In the chapter titled “Look At My Masculinity”, Pascoe shows how the school she studied did the same thing to their students through her story about Jessica Chau. The school and her social environment pressured her into wearing a dress using the excuse of tradition. She was not the kind of girl who would wear a dress and heels. She is what Pascoe might refer to as a “Dude”. Jessica wore comfortable clothing and had masculine gestures but she allowed herself to be pigeonholed into the stereotypical image of the Home Coming Queen thus fitting in with social norm.
At my own high school Shane MacDermott was not allowed to enter prom because he wore formal Scottish attire, which included a kilt. . This kilt had been in his family for generations and was the one his father wore to his wedding. It was the pride and joy of his family. The members of the administration tried to send him away because he violated the dress code by wearing a skirt. In the end the owners of the property had to step in and over rule this judgment for fear of an ethnic prejudice lawsuit.
The administration reacted according to their strict standards without considering the rest of the situation much like the Rivers High School did with Jessica. If they had removed themselves and looked objectively at the situation, then they would have seen that these interpretations are just as valid as the social standard.
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