Girls can wear dresses or pants. Right? Apparently not at prom. Sex, Etc. magazine recently reported that a 17-year-old girl in Indiana wanted to express her gender by wearing a tuxedo to prom. She was denied this right, because her school’s dress code required girls to wear dresses to prom. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit that resulted in the elimination of clothing restrictions based on sex.

You might be quick to blow this off as a rare occurrence, but issues like this come up more than you would think. At all-male, Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, there’s a new “Appropriate Attire Policy” that prohibits students from carrying purses or wearing dresses, makeup or high heels. A few weeks ago in Wesson, MS, a female student wore a tuxedo in her school picture, but the school would not allow her photograph to be published in the yearbook.

It is very discouraging that so many people and institutions are not accepting or understanding of how people choose to express their feelings of being male or female. Sadly, people often do not approve of things that they are not used to. There are many people in the world whose gender expression does not match our expectations of how guys or girls should act or dress. If we keep educating people and exposing them to the different ways that people choose to express their gender, perhaps we can eliminate the kind of discrimination these students faced.

-Melanie Johnson, 17, Staff Writer

This past weekend, teens celebrated Halloween—the “sweetest” time of year with candy, mischief, scary spirits—and sexy costumes?!

For some teen girls, Halloween is a fun, harmless opportunity to take exciting risks. From “naughty schoolgirls” to “sexy cops,” girls dressed up in provocative outfits to flaunt their wild sides and show off their bodies. Teens who normally aren’t all caught up in being sexy chose to wear revealing costumes that were tinier, tighter and shorter than ever.

A recent article from the campus newspaper at Northwestern University taught readers how to “skankify yourself this Halloween” with tips and rules. As Cady from Mean Girls has said, “Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” Hmmm…so the point of Halloween is to look like skanks and wear as little as possible? Don’t get me wrong, being able to comfortably express our sexy sides and explore personal boundaries can be incredibly empowering. But when does it go too far?

Check out this photo of Audrina Patridge in a genie costume at her recent Halloween party. “Audrina Patridge: Making Every Man’s Wish Come True” reads the headline from a celebrity gossip blog. The headline seems to suggest that the purpose of dressing up is to please others—especially men—rather than ourselves. Why isn’t there a picture of a male celebrity “making everyone’s wish come true” with his costume? What’s up with the double standard?

It’s fine to try out what it’s like to be sexy. But in today’s highly sexualized culture, where women are all too often valued only for their sex appeal, we’ve got to remember there’s a lot more to girls and women than just being sexy.

—Cynthia Lam, 16, Staff Writer

The cover of the November issue of Teen Vogue pictures 19-year-old Jourdan Dunn and 18-year-old Chanel Iman along with the cover line “Teen Supermodels Jourdan and Chanel on Their Rise to the Top.” Inside the magazine, Jourdan and Chanel talk about their careers as supermodels, but it’s what Jourdan reveals that’s got people talking.  Jourdan is expecting a baby sometime this December and her boyfriend, mother and modeling agency are supportive of her.

There was some debate at Teen Vogue, as to whether the magazine should still run the cover after they found out Jourdan was pregnant. But a number of factors, like a tight production schedule, kept the cover in place. Jourdan’s pregnancy and other recent celebrity teen pregnancies, like Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin, have been enough to get the public’s attention and start a conversation about teenage pregnancy.

Take a look at the cover. Can you even tell which one’s pregnant? I don’t know about you, but I don’t look at that picture and say “Omigosh! That supermodel is pregnant! That’s sooooo totally awesome! I want to be a teenage mother, too!!!” I’m smart enough to realize that this girl is an internationally famous supermodel and probably has a lot more money than I do to financially support a baby. I’d understand somebody having a problem with her being on the cover if she was promoting teen pregnancy, but she isn’t. Jourdan said that her pregnancy was unplanned and “really hard,” so she’s certainly not the poster child for how much fun being a pregnant teen is.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “fat”? It’s sad that for many people fat is like a death sentence. They’ll do anything to avoid being fat, even dangerous dieting that puts them at risk for developing an eating disorder. Why is it so hard to just love yourself, no matter your body type?

There are plenty of people—of all body sizes—that love their bodies and are totally healthy and comfy in their skin. For them, being happy with their bodies isn’t about dropping 15 pounds or having killer abs. Body acceptance is about rejecting the cultural obsession with thinness and celebrating all bodies, no matter the shape or size.

Are you tired of hearing that thinness equals happiness? So is Joy Nash: She’s fat…and fabulous! Check out what she has to say about being fat and loving the skin she’s in:

Britney Spears’ latest single, “Womanizer,” has been getting a lot of play on radio and MTV. The song isn’t groundbreaking. It has a lot in common with many of the music videos you see today—a woman using her body and sex for attention or power.

What’s interesting is that some people are calling “Womanizer” a girl power anthem. When you see the “Womanizer” music video, do you think of girl power?

Check out Wikipedia’s 10 Golden Rules of Girl Power:

1. Be positive.
2. Be strong.
3. Don’t let anyone put you down.
4. Be in control of your own life and your destiny.
5. Support your girl friends.
6. Let your girl friends support you, too.
7. Say what’s on your mind.
8. Approach life with attitude.
9. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can never do something because you’re a girl.
10. Have fun.

Does “Womanizer” make you feel empowered? Or does it tell girls that all they have to offer—the only thing that makes them valuable—is their bodies and sex?