Atlanta’s Morehouse College recently enacted a ban on the national collegiate pastime of cross-dressing. A school for black males, Morehouse took steps in a new dress code that bans “clothing associated with women’s garb” according to the announcement originally published in The Maroon Tiger, Morehouse’s student newspaper.
According to the Tiger, the new dress code includes:
--No caps, do-rags and/or hoods in classrooms, the cafeteria, or other indoor venues.
This policy item does not apply to headgear considered as a part of religious or cultural dress.
No sagging--the wearing of one’s pants or shorts low enough to reveal undergarments or secondary layers of clothing.
No wearing of clothing associated with women’s garb (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at college-sponsored events.
Other bans of clothing and accessories include: no grillz on campus, no bare feet in public, and no pajamas in public or common areas. Students who don’t follow the dress policy will be instructed to leave class or other functions.
Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed explains that the new dress code has little opposition and that Morehouse officials have expressed ninety percent of students are already observing the changes. Unfortunately, not all of Morehouse’s students are accepting of this new “appropriate attire policy.”
A group of gay students have come out in opposition of the new dress code, claiming that it hinders their self-expression. Kevin Webb, the co-president of Safe Space, Morehouse’s gay-straight student alliance, thinks the cross-dressing rule “borders on discrimination” as he told Inside Higher Ed. He also questioned how wearing female clothing impacts a student’s grade point average or if it means they’re not as a good a person as those who wear formal clothes.
In a statement regarding the dress code, Vice President for Student Services said “We are talking about five students who are living a gay lifestyle that is leading them to dress a way we do not expect in Morehouse men.”
Our Take:
The angles to take on this one are endless. Frankly, Morehouse is a private college specifically for young black men. They can enact whatever dress code they want. In fact, many other colleges have already brought about similar policies. It’s up to the students to decide whether these rules obstruct their personal expression and necessitate a transfer.
Blog site The Grio has an article written by David Love entitled “Morsehouse dress code is more about homophobia than decorum.” Queerty has also joined in the opinionated sparring match, mentioning that Morehouse “could teach tolerance and acceptance. You know, like that Martin Luther King Jr. fella” who attended the school.
Personally, I can’t see how cross-dressing really harms anyone or their education. Seriously, five students like to cross-dress and that’s an issue? Having a school-wide policy address that few attendees is like hitting a fly with a baseball bat: completely unnecessary.
Also, no pajamas? That’s just harsh man. Having attended an arts school, I don’t know what some people would have done without being able to wear the occasional pajama pant.
What side of the fence do you sit on? Are you on board with these changes or has Morehouse taken it too far? Let us know! (Pajamas welcome.)
