AIBU to think it isn't fair for school to ban skirts and dresses

Actually, re sagging trousers - in my son’s school the boys are frequently told to pull their trousers up! It’s to do with the fact that it’s not appropriate to have underwear on display in a professional environment and that applies equally to girls hitching their skirts right up or boys pulling their trousers right down.

In the 6th form the uniform policy is quite relaxed but says ‘no visible underwear’, and yes that applies equally to the boys and girls.

Surely getting well fitted skirts is nearly as bad as trousers. I've never had a skirt that fits well without alterations.
Back in the depths of time the no trousers was relaxed at my middle school, I wore black cords. I wore trousers/ cords/ jeans at school after that until 18. I started work in trousers. My current job is work polo, jumpers and..black jeans.

Because trousers are more practical. There’s a reason why skirts and dresses have never taken off for men…

But better still is simply get rid of uniform.

Well why not make all the children wear skirts then? Why does it have to be trousers?

I don't think this is a reasonable argument. Trousers have not been 'assigned to boys' for a long time. Almost all girls wear jeans and/or joggers at home as part of their normal clothes, so it's ridiculous for them to only claim that trousers are masculine when they are part of a school uniform. I'm not even a fan of uniform particularly, but I'm certainly bored with having to tell girls to roll their skirts down (so that they aren't showing their knickers). If they want to be allowed to continue to wear skirts, they could try not turning them into belts .

Why? Why does a UNIFORM need choice?

Culottes are the answer. Look like skirts, fit like skirts. Can’t be rolled up. And you can do handstands in them without showing your knicks

Yes, it's a bizarre question.

In your opinion. I’d have hated wearing those shorts when I was at primary school. We shouldn’t be taking choices away from girls.

My wee sister wore pinafores for a very long time at school for a similar reason, and she couldn't stand the feeling of anything around her waist.

I find the focus on the length of skirts a bit of a straw man. I live right next to a high school and barely even notice what they're wearing, never mind fainting at the sight of a leg. (Except one goth girl, the only goth child I've seen in a long time. My daughter thinks she looks cool so we notice her).

Edit: quote disappeared again. Does anyone know how to stop that from happening?

I think it is a good idea. The school I work at banned girls from doing handstands and gymnastics from the area of the playground that has a soft surface. This because they can be seen from the street and they show their pants. It annoys me because we impose an impractical uniform then curtail their favourite physical activity. There isn’t a suitable alternative spot, so they have stopped doing gymnastics. I have raised it, but they aren’t willing to change the uniform and can’t afford to put up a screen on the railings.

Many of our children now wear the gingham shorts with either a plain polo shirt or a gingham shirt.

much more practical

Skirts or trousers is hardly a mind boggling range of options.

Or even when they stand up to go to the next lesson! I have to remember to look away, otherwise it's just underwear on display.

Exactly! Parents buy these skirts so obviously don’t mind. Personally I would never buy such a garment for school wear.

The skirts at my high school are very, very short. No tights. Thankfully it didn’t seem to be the trend so much at dc school. Supply teacher even commented how short they were compared to other schools and was surprised it was allowed. I told her that staff don’t bother telling them to unroll them because you get accused of being dodgy. This is evidenced in this thread. When they drop something and bend to pick it up it is not good. Same when going upstairs.

My daughter LOVED those little dresses! There's absolutely no reason they or other dresses/skirts shouldn't be an option. As ever - in real terms, nothing really changes for the boys, only for the girls.

They're not going to wear knee length skirts in yr7+!
At our school most of the girls wear those very short tube skirts, just covering the bum. I just think if parents are happy to send their daughters to school in tiny skirts, who are we as teachers to challenge this?

Because if at school trousers are the only option for boys all the boys will be wearing trousers. .a To A girl who has always worn skirts to school being forced to wear trousers is going to feel like she has to wear the masculine/boy option.

YADNBU. Why can’t their ‘gender neutral’ uniform be dresses? The default is always male 🙄 What’s really gender neutral is to have a choice of dresses, skirts and trousers, and allow every child to choose from those options whatever their sex.

The majority of dress and skirt wearers are girls, so this is indirect discrimination against girls. I wouldn’t comply and I’d be telling them why. As a child, I loved wearing dresses, mainly because I found them more comfortable due to my body shape and size.

As for modesty, don’t get me started…

Ridiculous, why not : option of trousers / shorts + option of pinafore / summer dresses until Y6 then knee length skirts for Y7+ ?

On the issue of options - how many options does a uniform need before it is no longer a uniform?

Why are they? And why is girls wearing trousers at school masculine but not them wearing them elsewhere?

No upskirting, no restriction of movement in case something shows, no argument about skirt length

It's not very feminist of me, but for little primary school age girls, I think there's nothing cuter than the gingham dresses and pinafores, DD and i would be so sad to give these up. No logical reason, I know I am BU!!