These teenage boys wore off-the-shoulder tops to protest their high school's sexist dress code

The INSIDER Summary:

• Over 50 students were given dress code violations for wearing off-the-shoulder shirts to high school in Hollister, California.
• The shirts have technically been against the school's dress code for several years, but the students claim that the policy was first enforced on August 10.
• On August 14, dozens of  female and male students protested this policy by wearing off-the-shoulder tops to school.
• Students felt that banning off-the-shoulder tops is sexist because it targets a style of clothing worn more commonly by women.
• Now, students are in talks with the school's principal to update the dress code.

Off-the-shoulder tops might be in style this season, but high schools across the country are not exactly thrilled about the trend.

On August 10, students at San Benito High School in Hollister, California, were confused to find out that they had broken the school's dress code by wearing off-the-shoulder tops, according to Yahoo Style. Over 50 students were punished for wearing the style — and one student claimed that some were even sent home for violating the school's dress code, Yahoo Style reported.

In response, dozens of male and female students at the school staged a protest against the policy by wearing off-the-shoulder shirts to school on August 14.

The protest seemed to be a success.

Although the school's dress code has technically prohibited strapless and tube tops in the past, students claim that the policy was enforced for the first time this year.

"The dress code policy hasn’t been an issue the past two years I have been here," an unnamed 16-year-old student told Yahoo Style. The student told the site that she and other students had frequently worn off-the-shoulder shirts before without getting in trouble.

Another student said that it's ironic that students can't wear off-the-shoulder tops to class when they are required to wear them in their yearbook portraits.

Still, San Benito High School's principal Adrian Ramirez defended the dress code.

"Students are saying that they were hearing that the reason [strapless and off-the-shoulder shirts] are not allowed is that it distracted the boys and that’s definitely not it at all. And they felt offended by that, and I completely agree that, if that was our stance, I would be offended too," he told Yahoo Style. "Part of my job is to clarify the why behind the dress code. Whether you are a male or female student, it’s your own responsibility not to be distracted, regardless of your gender."

The principal met with students on August 17 to discuss the dress code, and said that he has learned a lot from this experience.

"It’s been a really good process for me as principal to sit down and hear where issues arose," he told the site. "We wouldn’t blame a female student at all. We would never blame a female student for another student being distracted by something they wore. The other thing is as a school, we should be looking back and looking at how consistently we address the dress code across campus, and that’s something else students have brought up."

However, the same 16-year-old student quoted above said she found the situation frustrating. "Off-the-shoulder is a very big trend in the fashion industry right now," she said. "It’s not harming anyone physically….I think it is ridiculous how we have to fight against [the administration] to wear a shirt that is not harming anyone."

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