September 14, 2005 Source: Laurentian University of Sudbury:
http://laurentian.ca/?file=newsrelease/2005/sept/sept14_dress_codes_e.php Girls, dress codes and the regulation of femininity in schools Dr. Rebecca Raby, child and youth studies professor at Brock University will present a public lecture on Monday, September 26, from 1:30 to 3 p.m., in the Thorneloe University Theatre, which is located on the Laurentian University campus. Admission is free and everyone is invited. Entitled "Tank Tops Should Be Ok but I Don't Want to See Thong-age,” this talk will focus on girls, dress codes and the regulation of femininity in schools. This presentation is based upon Dr. Raby's Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) funded School and school board dress and discipline codes often include special mention of girls' dress and the need for girls to avoid provocative clothing. Frequently such stipulations are problematically framed in terms of self-respect. In her talk, Dr. Raby will draw on a series of focus groups with secondary students in the Niagara Region to explore girls' responses to such dress codes. While many young women are critical of certain aspects of their schools' dress codes, most are also scornful of girls who wear revealing clothing. This presentation also addresses the stigma associated with the term 'slut,' and how students position and regulate themselves and others within the wider context of popular and institutional constructions of femininity. Dr. Rebecca Raby is a sociologist and a member of the Child and Youth Studies Department at Brock University . Her primary areas of study include constructions of childhood and adolescence; theories of resistance among adolescents/youth; the relationship between adolescence and other (constructed) life stages; and children and youth as active participants in research. She is currently investigating a SSHRC funded project on secondary school dress and discipline codes in the Niagara and Toronto regions. Rebecca Raby's research also investigates gender, race, class and sexual orientation as they intersect with childhood and adolescence. Recent publications include “Polite, Well-dressed and on Time: Secondary School Conduct Codes and the Production of Docile Citizens” in The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology and “There's no Racism at my School, It's Just Joking Around: Ramifications for Anti-racist Education,” in Race, Ethnicity and Education . "Talking (Behind Your) Back: Girls and Resistance" is forth-coming in Girlhood: Redefining the Limits , which is edited by Yasmin Jiwani, Claudia Mitchell and Candis Steenbergen. This lecture is sponsored by Thorneloe University 's Women's Studies Program, and Laurentian's English Language School of Education and Department of Sociology. For more information or to coordinate an interview, please call Dr. Susanne Luhmann, Women's studies professor at Thorneloe University , at (705) 673-1730, ext. 39 or sluhmann@laurentian.ca. Reference: Paul de la Riva Public Affairs Sudbury, Ontario (705) 675-1151, ext. 3406 pdelarivalaurentian.ca www.laurentian.ca
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