Dress as Your Type Day: How Schools are Exclusive

If you're a high school student or have seen posts from high schools themselves, you may have heard of an event day called "Dress as Your Type Day". This is a spirit day where the goal is to dress as your "type"; A.K.A. who you're sexually attracted. Now, you may have started to see the problems with this, and if you haven't, let me explain.

1. This day is solely for allosexual-heterosexual individuals. I understand if you don't know what those terms mean, but in short, it is "straight individuals who experience sexual attraction". So, why is this wrong? This is exclusion at its height. The many students (or administration) who are asexual or experience same-sex attraction are discluded. Asexual people do not experience sexual attraction or do but in lesser quantities. How are they to participate?

2. Lack of representation. In homosexual relationship representation, there is either a stereotyped version displayed or nothing at all. When participating, your only option is to dress the stereotype or be assumed to not be participating. There is no winning if you aren't the target audience.

I had the pleasure of interviewing an asexual student on their thoughts on the matter, below, you will find the interview:

Maddie: "We're going to be talking about 'dress as your type day', obviously."

Anonymous: "Yes."

Maddie: "So you, as an asexual person, what are your initial opinions on 'dress as you type day'?"

Anonymous: "I hated it like it is really weird. It is a straight, allosexual day and that is it. It is a really exclusionary day. No one liked it. Um, it's just an excuse for straight cis people in school to dress up like their significant others, and anybody who is not cis straight or allosexual... it wasn't a day for them. Some could but it would be publically broadcasting their sexuality and nobody wants to do that."

Maddie: "So, do you think it targets not only allosexual people but straight high schoolers?"

Anonymous: "Yes, I do. For queer high schoolers who say aren't out yet, they can't really participate in that day without outing themselves or pretending to be something they aren't. I know I've heard people say if a girl wants to dress as a girl for her type, people would assume she's dressing as herself. So you can only really tell if it is a straight relationship."

Maddie: "What is your opinion on people saying that the day is 'light-hearted' or is not supposed to be as 'deep' as we may think it is? As someone who was genuinely affected by this day, how did it make you feel?"

Anonymous: "I just know I love participating in things, and I didn't know how to. I wasn't really out to myself and I couldn't figure out how to participate. I felt excluded."

Maddie: "What about when people would say, for example, you dress as a sport player? Or a specific thing, like a red flag?"

Anonymous: "You mean like, not specifically as a gender you're attracted to but something you like?"

Maddie: "Yes."

Anonymous: "I think the way the day was framed, the way it was said 'dress as your type' makes it really only about your relationships. You could have made it a dress as your 'favorite sport' or something along those lines but the way it was framed centers it around relationships".

Maddie: "So you definitely think it was 100% excluded all asexual people and anyone who is not heterosexual?"

Anonymous: "Yeah... definitely yeah. It at least made it really difficult for them to participate."

Maddie: "So, on a bit of a different level when talking about this event, do you personally think that this event could've affected those who aren't quite out? Maybe initiated some negative feelings?"

Anonymous: "Well I personally wasn't really out with myself at that time,"

Maddie: "Right,"

Anonymous: "And like, it was just really confusing. Feeling pressured to figure things out."

Maddie: "Well, thank you for sitting down and talking about this with me. I believe that any school events that do happen, no matter where you are in the world, that they should 100% be inclusive, and if everyone cannot participate, they shouldn't be done."

Anonymous: "Yeah definitely."

In the end, schools are supposed to be safe places. How can we be inclusive without listening to everyone? So please, listen to your peers, acknowledge these mistakes, and make the change.

Thank you,

Maddie Fifield