Consistent with this year’s Homecoming theme of Old Hollywood, CHS’ security policy for the dance seems to mirror the time period’s dated gender inequalities.
The day before Homecoming, CHS’ Assistant Principal of Student Services Miriam Worth sent a message via ParentSquare detailing important information, including the security policy, for the dance. Irrespective of the fact that these details were sent out just over 24 hours before Homecoming, the policy was incredibly discriminatory.
The overarching issue with the security policy was with purse sizes. The policy states that Purses/bags are not allowed into the dance. Small clutches (4.5″ x 6.5″) are subject to search but can be brought in. Finding a purse that is the size of an index card is difficult enough, not to mention the fact that students had a single day to do so, but even if one did, the problems do not end there.
To enter the dance, all guests MUST have their physical Photo ID, not a picture on their phone. Given the fact that the odds of a Homecoming dress having pockets are next to none since after-five dresses never have pockets because they would distort the figures’ silhouettes, this requirement of physical IDs for people who will not have pockets shows the sexist nature of the purse policy. Homecoming dresses are designed to be accessorized with purses and since all dress-wearing individuals were required to have their ID on them, this meant that unless they wanted to hold it all night, they had to find a purse fitting the ludicrous dimensions.
Not only that, but most students brought their phones to the dance, many of which were bigger than the small dimensions, 4.5” x 6.5”, of the approved bags. This, coupled with the fact that students who drove themselves also had to carry their driver’s license and car keys, shows that this purse policy is simply ridiculous and intensely discriminatory as pants-wearing individuals did not face this issue since their clothing is almost universally designed with multiple pockets.
With this, any menstruating individuals who wished to carry period products with them could have been logistically prevented from doing so should such products not fit in their tiny purses. This is only one of the many ways in which the Homecoming security policy demonstrated gender discrimination. Since purses had to fit the dimensions of 4.5” x 6.5”, this could reasonably have caused targeted issues for those needing to carry menstrual products.
Looking at the lengthy list of prohibited items, it becomes apparent that the policy is once again sexist. Such a list includes travel size products and liquid eyeliner. This led to cosmetics, such as makeup items like lip gloss, to be confiscated. Despite the fact that this seems to be an irrational policy, with the incredibly vague restriction of travel size products, it is targeted toward individuals who use makeup.
From the purse size restrictions to the entry requirements to the list of prohibited items, the CHS Homecoming security policy, intentional or not, was incredibly sexist.
