How does the quote below show that dress codes are harmful?

Question

Students are raised from ages 5-18 with the knowledge that girls should be ashamed of their bodies, that the female body is inherently s*xual.

Answer 1

Basically, your task is to demonstrate two things: first, that dress codes are part of the way that students are raised to believe that girls should be ashamed of their bodies, and secondly, that that is harmful to students.

The argument that you would probably want to make here is that dress codes function as a way of reinforcing the knowledge that girls should be ashamed of their bodies. Specifically, you might argue that certain dress codes enforcing the length of skirts or dictating certain tops that minimize the amount of skin shown are based on a belief that girls bodies are inherently s*xual and therefor should not be shown in an academic environment. The next step is to show how the belief that female bodies are inherently s*xual is a harmful one, and fortunately there is a wealth of feminist theory around that question. Specifically, you could focus on all the problems that can result from shaming women about their bodies, including things like eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, low self-esteem, and other mental health issues.

Hope that helps!