Dear President,

“The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says ‘it's a girl’.” So says first African American congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. It is critical that in schools boys and girls should have the same standards regarding dress code and behavior. This matters to me because I’m a girl and I’ve felt frustrated by this inequality. This isn’t right because both genders are affected by unfairness.

Schools are where learning should take place not discrimination against either gender. In certain classes throughout middle school girls and boys have different standards. In schools every boy and girl should have the same standards, because school is getting them ready for the real world. If girls have higher standards(or harder work) than boys it will follow them through their jobs and adulthood and they’ll always be expected to do harder work than boys.

Both genders are affected by inequality, boys just as much as girls. In some classes girls usually are off the hook when they forget a homework or don’t finish an assignment. When the boys forget a homework or don’t finish an assignment they get yelled at, and points off whereas the girl will get full points and a pat on the back. Even my brother in Highschool notices when this happens in his everyday life. When something like this happens a girl could think either that she’s stupid and not getting her punishment, or that she’s better than everyone else who’s more deserving of things. It doesn’t matter what a girl or boy thinks of it, it only matters that it's not equal.

Boys should have the same standards as girls when it comes to behavior and dress code. In my classes in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade I’ve always had at least 2 boys who would interrupt the class but never get in trouble. They never get in trouble because the teacher doesn’t want to stop what they're doing to have to talk to that student. But when a classmate and I finished our work and had a whispered conversation we got yelled at and separated. It's not equal because it's seems as if girls would have a higher standard of how to act in class when boys would have a really low standard of how to act. By these standards it seems that boys can be aggressive, assertive, and loud but a girl should sit still and do this meticulously.

In our school when a girl shows her shoulders it's too distracting to the boys…. I think the boys should worry about themselves and the girls can worry about themselves. It's not a girls fault if she’s being too distracting by showing her shoulders, it's not like she’s walking around in a bathing suit!

Some people may think that all of those stereotypes are in the past and done with. Many stereotypes are in the past but many have started up again in middle schools. Others may argue that Boys aren’t affected by inequity; But boys have very high standards when it comes to how tough they are or how manly and how tall they are.

By ending stereotypes we will boost teens confidence which will lesson the suicide rate. If we stop stereotyping girls and boys at that in between age in middle school, their generation will thrive!

Sincerely, a Fellow Citizen of the US