--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the time I was a sophomore in high…" description: "\"By the time I was a sophomore in high school, it had become routine for me to be sent home for wearing dresses. My mere presence in a skirt became an a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f9/janet-mock-2947_fashion_by-the-time-i-was-a-sophomore-in-high-sc_3030916.jpg" --- # By the time I was a sophomore in high school, it had… ![“By the time I was a sophomore in high school, it had become routine for me to be sent home for wearing dresses. My mere presence in a skirt became an act of protest that would get me called out of class and into the vice principal's office.” quote by Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f9/janet-mock-2947_fashion_by-the-time-i-was-a-sophomore-in-high-sc_3030916.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f9/janet-mock-2947_fashion_by-the-time-i-was-a-sophomore-in-high-sc_3030916.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f9/janet-mock-2947_fashion_by-the-time-i-was-a-sophomore-in-high-sc_3030916.jpg) > “By the time I was a sophomore in high school, it had become routine for me to be sent home for wearing dresses. My mere presence in a skirt became an act of protest that would get me called out of class and into the vice principal's office.” [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing gender nonconformity in school led to punitive actions, turning personal style into protest. **In simple terms:** Wearing dresses at school became protest. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity despite opposition. Themes identity protest gender norms school authority Mood defiant reflective Type personal narrative social commentary When to use this quote - school environment - public spaces - activism - personal branding Key Concepts social conformity personal expression resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions support gender diverse students? - What personal costs arise from visible protest? A Different Perspective Risk of alienation and safety concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Skirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skirt/) [Skirt Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skirt-act-4950324/) [Sophomore High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophomore-high-2489123/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vice Principal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-principal-3052924/) [Wearing Dresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wearing-dresses-668943/) ## Related quotes > [My mom was practically in the vice principal's office all the time! Now I really feel sorry that my mom had to go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barun-sobti/my-mom-was-practically-in-the-vice-principal-s-office-all-the-time/) [Barun Sobti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barun-sobti/) > [When I got nominated class clown in school, I remember my mom said, 'Don't be no clown.' So I went to my vice principal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jermaine-fowler/when-i-got-nominated-class-clown-in-school-i-remember-my-mom-said-don/) [Jermaine Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jermaine-fowler/) > [I was the oldest male in the house from when I was a sophomore in high school, so I definitely had to grow up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caris-levert/i-was-the-oldest-male-in-the-house-from-when-i-was-a-sophomore-in/) [Caris LeVert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caris-levert/) > [The fact is, when I was 15 and a sophomore at high school, I played on the varsity baseball team for the college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-mize/the-fact-is-when-i-was-15-and-a-sophomore-at-high-school-i-played-on/) [Johnny Mize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-mize/) > [Back when I was a freshman-sophomore in high school, I was saying that I was going to Michigan once I saw the Fab Five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-crawford/back-when-i-was-a-freshman-sophomore-in-high-school-i-was-saying-that/) [Jamal Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-crawford/) > [I love wearing dresses, but more simplistic, classic-looking dresses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-prass/i-love-wearing-dresses-but-more-simplistic-classic-looking-dresses/) [Natalie Prass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-prass/) > [It's interesting to speculate how it developed that in two of the most anti-feminist institutions, the church and the law court, the men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-interesting-to-speculate-how-it-developed-that-in-two-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I like wearing everything, from dresses to jeans to saris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jwala-gutta/i-like-wearing-everything-from-dresses-to-jeans-to-saris/) [Jwala Gutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jwala-gutta/) > [Honestly, I just wear what makes me feel good. So many people come up to me, and they're like, 'Did you know you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilly-singh/honestly-i-just-wear-what-makes-me-feel-good-so-many-people-come-up/) [Lilly Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilly-singh/) > [Simplicity survives the changes of fashion. Women of chic are wearing now dresses they bought from me in 1936. Fit the century, forget the year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valentina/simplicity-survives-the-changes-of-fashion-women-of-chic-are-wearing/) [Valentina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valentina/) > [I didn't try and do fashion pictures. I tried to do portraits of girls wearing dresses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bailey/i-didn-t-try-and-do-fashion-pictures-i-tried-to-do-portraits-of-girls/) [David Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bailey/) > [To go clubbing, I wear a short denim skirt paired with a white shirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rituparna-sengupta/to-go-clubbing-i-wear-a-short-denim-skirt-paired-with-a-white-shirt/) [Rituparna Sengupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rituparna-sengupta/) > [The first design I created was a circular skirt for my Barbie when I was 7.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-walker/the-first-design-i-created-was-a-circular-skirt-for-my-barbie-when-i/) [Karen Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-walker/) > [Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/tremendous-amounts-of-talent-are-lost-to-our-society-just-because/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [You should have seen me in my Catholic school girl skirt with my knees knocking together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lyn-o-keefe/you-should-have-seen-me-in-my-catholic-school-girl-skirt-with-my/) [Jodi Lyn O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lyn-o-keefe/) ## More by Janet Mock > [Like many teens, I struggled with my body and looks, but my despair was amplified by the expectations of cisnormativity and the gender binary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/like-many-teens-i-struggled-with-my-body-and-looks-but-my-despair-was/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [Throughout the day, I like to spritz my face with a rose water for extra moisture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/throughout-the-day-i-like-to-spritz-my-face-with-a-rose-water-for/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [In the evening, I use a cleansing oil - coconut oil also works - to remove makeup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/in-the-evening-i-use-a-cleansing-oil-coconut-oil-also-works-to-remove/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [“she cleaned, scrubbing to the staticky rhythm of Hawaiian music playing from her silver clock radio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/she-cleaned-scrubbing-to-the-staticky-rhythm-of-hawaiian-music/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [Hawaii was so integral to my journey. I was just there at the right time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/hawaii-was-so-integral-to-my-journey-i-was-just-there-at-the-right/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [I was a mixed black girl existing in a westernized Hawaiian culture where petite Asian women were the ideal, in a white culture where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/i-was-a-mixed-black-girl-existing-in-a-westernized-hawaiian-culture/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [Trans folk, especially of color, should not be obligated to help cis folk play catch-up on our experiences. The effort can detract from our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/trans-folk-especially-of-color-should-not-be-obligated-to-help-cis/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [I grew up at a time in Hawaii where there were trans women around, so there were visible role models for me. At the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/i-grew-up-at-a-time-in-hawaii-where-there-were-trans-women-around-so/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [We have to take care of our people. That's our work now. And it's going to be a lot harder than it would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/we-have-to-take-care-of-our-people-that-s-our-work-now-and-it-s-going/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [“The misconception of equating ease of life with “passing” must be dismantled in our culture. The work begins by each of us recognizing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/the-misconception-of-equating-ease-of-life-with-passing-must-be/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [This pervasive idea that trans women deserve violence needs to be abolished. It’s a socially sanctioned practice of blaming the victim. We must begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/this-pervasive-idea-that-trans-women-deserve-violence-needs-to-be/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [“The crux of our conflict lay in the fact that we each couldn't be who we wanted the other to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/the-crux-of-our-conflict-lay-in-the-fact-that-we-each-couldn-t-be-who/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [We have to organize. We have to build up coalitions across all of these people who are considered "the other." If we all banded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/we-have-to-organize-we-have-to-build-up-coalitions-across-all-of/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [“Many people believe trans women choose to engage in the sex trade rather than get a real job. That belief is misguided because sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/many-people-believe-trans-women-choose-to-engage-in-the-sex-trade/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [I was obsessed with 'The Velvet Rope' for a year straight, letting Janet Jackson's confessional lyrics lull me to sleep and comfort me when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/i-was-obsessed-with-the-velvet-rope-for-a-year-straight-letting-janet/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) [Explore all 144 Janet Mock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) ## More Fashion quotes > [“I can either be a victim—or a winner. Fuck victimhood. I don’t wear it well; it clashes with my wardrobe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-can-either-be-a-victim-or-a-winner-fuck-victimhood-i-don-t-wear-it/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Never in a million years would I imagine Calvin Klein flying me out to my first men's fashion show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dallas/never-in-a-million-years-would-i-imagine-calvin-klein-flying-me-out/) [Cameron Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dallas/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [No one knows whom the shoe pinches - no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholom-aleichem/no-one-knows-whom-the-shoe-pinches-no-one/) [Sholom Aleichem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholom-aleichem/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [I have always been too round to do fashion shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/i-have-always-been-too-round-to-do-fashion-shows/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) > [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [I've retired my sneakers for stilettos, baby!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivica-a-fox/i-ve-retired-my-sneakers-for-stilettos-baby/) [Vivica A. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivica-a-fox/) [Browse all 19,830 Fashion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By the time I was a sophomore in high school, it had become routine for me to be sent home for wearing dresses. 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