Dress Coded

“Souls leave bodies in tiny gasps, like when you hold the lip of a balloon tightly and let out the air a little bit at a time. That’s why I texted her two days later. I had planned to talk to her at school, but she refused to go.”

Molly witnesses the principal, Dr. Couchman, and Mr. Dern yelling at Olivia, and she imagines tiny pieces of her soul leaving her body. Something about Olivia’s experience strikes a chord with Molly, and she reaches out to Olivia; although Olivia is too embarrassed to appear on Molly’s podcast, Molly decides to take a stand against the dress code anyway. Molly’s response introduces the theme of Female Friendships and Solidarity in the Face of Discrimination.

“She has her favorite targets—the bigger girls, the girls with boobs and butts, the prettiest girls, and the girls with long legs. Nobody has ever seen her stop a boy.”

Molly reflects on how “Fingertip,” the dean of students, routinely dress codes girls, particularly the ones with more developed bodies; on the other hand, she has never dress coded a boy. This observation justifies Molly and the other girls’ claim that the dress code is unfair toward them and unevenly enforced. This is what gives their protest legitimacy (See: Background).

“‘Now that the camping trip is canceled, can I just wear whatever I want?’ ‘Why would you ask for trouble?’ ‘Because I want to take a stand on something for once in my life.’”

Molly asks her mother if she can flout the dress code, since the class camping trip is cancelled and can no longer be held against the students. She wants to take a stand on something, despite having avoided conflict for most of her life, especially in her relationship with older brother Danny. Her choice shows that the dress code protest is not something she indulges in frivolously, which is also why her mother offers her full support.