Should skirt length matter in secondary schools?

'And while male teachers are, of course, controlling their feelings of awkwardness and embarrassment at their pupils flashing their pants, that doesn't mean they should have to feel that way in the first place.'

'Feelings of awkwardness and embarrassment! They are working with underage girls their feelz should not come into it.

The sexualisation of school girls on this thread is appalling .

Our didnt 'flash their knickers' or have 'arse cheeks hanging out' when at school, I still used to fume over the silly letters from school dictating trouser styie and measuring skirt length. Just teach our kids, that's your job.

I walked ro the village yesterday lots of girls with shorts on and skimpy tops, luckily the 'random men' all seemed able to conduct themselves appropriately 🙄.

The problem is, if they say above the knee (as at our local school) most girls push the boundary and wear it mid thigh.
I see some of them walking past the house with their skirts barely covering their bum cheeks most days (assume they pull it down once they arrive at school)
Why do they feel the need to expose themselves to this extent?

Actually, no, it wasn’t. But you don’t need my history. But surely it’s not beyond your wit to realise that some locations don’t have an abundance of schools?

Since we have been in a position to choose we have chosen to live in town where there are two schools. One being a grammar. Both of which have similar uniform rules to the rural school anyway.

I have never seen young women of college or uni age watching the kind of 'skirts' that I see girls wearing walking to my local secondary school. Thank goodness it's something they grow out of.

And while male teachers are, of course, controlling their feelings of awkwardness and embarrassment at their pupils flashing their pants, that doesn't mean they should have to feel that way in the first place.

It beggars belief that there are mothers on this thread who think that it's healthy and right that their daughters are flashing their genital areas to their male schoolmates and teachers.

'Regardless of the feelings of boys, male teachers, random men on the street'

Male teachers and random men on the street should be able to control their 'feelings' .

How to these poor male teachers cope at college and uni where they don't dictate skirt length??

Presumably you are not looking at them bend down to pick up a bag, climb stairs, get on and off a bench seat. Our Y8/9 girls are appalling at the moment for this and they genuinely don't realise how short it is because they are looking from above. Regardless of the feelings of boys, male teachers, random men on the street, in our society, we don't expect to see some body parts on show unless on the beach and these are the same girls who make a massive fuss about swimming in front of boys, changing for games in front of each other sometimes. They don't realise what they are showing so we have to try and help them get it..they do eventually. It doesn't need to be knee length but anything more than about six inches above and they cannot move without flashing their underwear.

Sorry, what did you mean?

I’ve seriously never seen arse cheeks on the school run. Short skirts yes, glad I’m not looking hard enough to notice buttocks flesh

Young women in offices are mainly wearing skirts above the knee or much shorter. A knee length skirt looks frumpy

But they are not wearing skirts which show their knickers.

And please can we drop the word 'frumpy' to describe women's appearance? It's just as judgemental and mysogynistic as anything else that's been said on this thread.

I think most people discussing the ‘arse skimming’ skirts were discussing current skirt lengths in general rather than the OP’s daughter’s specifically. Granted that wasn’t the point of the thread but that is how these sort of topics of conversation go.

Also, if not wanting to see arse cheeks on the school run makes me a pearl clutcher then you can wrap me in fucking pearls as long as you make sure my arse is covered.

She was threatened detention? Most like she’s lying.

My kids stayed at their state grammar. At some point dress codes and decency exist. You shouldn't be showing off your bits at school

I dont think its healthy for schools to focus so much on skirt length and I think it sends a very negative message about what we value about girls. Young women in offices are mainly wearing skirts above the knee or much shorter. A knee length skirt looks frumpy and can accentuate areas of the body that girls are not comfortable with. Maybe if schools were more relaxed about length if skirts they would have less of the really ridiculous bum cheek showing skirts.

The problem with this uniform neurosis is that it is symptomatic of the way education is viewed now - transactional, preparation for the world of work, look at how many posters have highlighted this comparison to a world of work that doesn't exist anymore! Education has an intrinsic value that is being lost and it is the only way to open up people's minds and understand why perhaps showing your bum cheeks isn't very fulfilling over all in life!

Where I live parents often cite short skirts as a reason they choose to send their DD to private schools so they learn to ‘respect themselves’. My DD went to a state school and wore a very short skirt. Now she’s at Uni and many of her friends are from private schools. When they go out they all dress the same. When they go to the beach they all wear tiny bikinis. Obsessing over skirt lengths has done nothing to influence how they dress in the real world. My DD has an office job over the Uni holidays and knew without being told what the dress expectations would be. She has had PT jobs with uniforms and wore the polyester polo shirt, cargo pants and covered shoes without an issue.

Maybe they’re just being teenagers and the more we insist, the more they resist.

I live near a few schools - sick of seeing teenage girls in glorified belts wandering past - i am all for self expression but its too much. I know the slutty look is popular, but I dont see why adults should be condoning it.

The OPs daughter had a mid thigh length skirt, so many of you pearl clutchers now translating that into barely skimming the arse is ridiculously hilarious!

And I don’t see how the teacher can issue a detention for something that didn’t occur in school.

Mid thigh fine - although kilts / pleated skirts are more flappy in the wind so I’d prefer just above the knee max. The length of some straight skirts is often ridiculous, barely skimming knickers. I think they’re awful, just attracting the eyes of seedy blokes, lusty teenagers and horrified women!!

It makes me genuinely sad for the girls I see with extremely short skirts. Why are they trying to sexualise themselves?

Your choice to live in a rural location.

I know what I'm wearing for work tomorrow, then.

Tiny skirt, rolled over a few times so I get a nice, sweaty waistband. And my headteacher best not challenge me, because a. Why is he looking at my skirt?and b. It's my choice.

We all know how practical tiny skirts are... in all weathers.

I sometimes think these threads is full of the kind of blokes who give my 13 Yr old the eye, when she's in shorts and crop tops.

Oh they know round here. Parents evening they walk in with their parents with skirt not even visible under their blazer. I’ve seen mums on FB asking where to take school skirts to get them shortened because their dd wants to dress like everyone else. The sooner school uniform is scrapped the better imo. Unless worn completely properly it just looks scruffy. So much nicer this week to have the kids in PE kit all the time because of hot weather. Much more practical and comfortable than the kilt and blazer polyester combo.

That should be thay the girl should be able.to bend down without revealing her arse and people walking up the stairs behind her should not be flashed with a view of her arse imo

One secondary for us in a rural location,

That's not what the OP questioned though, they asked about mid thigh skirts, your 'arse cheeks' interpretation is a sensationalist spin on the question. I rarely see this locally, I think it depends on the school and the type of tribe you belong to.

Do you work in an office, if so it just be a very formal one if you can't wear a mid thigh length skirt? Also, I am curious to know how the conversation goes, the discipline procedure (of the 1990s) that addresses the mid thigh length skirt, is it along the lines of; "Now look here Isabelle, you cannot be wearing that thigh length skirt with shorts underneath or tights and certainly not bare legged 😱 or hairy legged come to think of itz do you understand how distracting that is to the perverts in the office, you are on a written warning"🙄