AIBU to challenge the school’s wording about pupils rolling skirts up?

This year our school got rid of skirts completely and everyone wears trousers - it has saved a huge amount of time battling over skirts being rolled up, and we don’t see bum cheeks in the corridors . Girls weren’t happy at the time but seem to be mostly over it and I had stopped thinking about it.

I took a group of girls to a women only hands on STEM activities event this week and ours were the only girls in trousers out of about 150 girls . They were also the only students not having to worry about their incredibly short skirts as they got up and down from the floor, bent over activities etc.It really brought it home how impractical the really short skirts are for any activity that isn’t standing about looking on trend in your uniform and made me feel grateful all over again for the decision.

You were seriously thinking of challenging ie wasting teachers precious time with having to respond to you over this silliness, and I guess that pees me off a bit!

My son's school is trousers for all. No skirts at all.

because that is what I think would happen. You would be told explicitly “mum, what are you talking about?! As you have been on this thread. Roundly.

If the Op did have adult daughters, and she spouted the same nonsense about “feminism” and in relation to this issue, it’s very likely she’d be put in her place as she has been on this thread

Ludicrous, isn't it?

"feminism"

This. Why are schoolgirls dressing for the male gaze, in such a sexualised way, and why do people like the OP support and defend it, and criticise the school trying to stop it?

Yabvu. This is not sexism; it's about carrying yourself with dignity and teaching girls self-respect. Walking on the street with your ass practically on show is not dignified.

Sometimes you just need to overcome peer pressure and buck the trend. Didn't happen at the grammars my DDs went to. People should raise their sons and daughters to dress appropriately for school.

We live a a “naice” middle class area and by y10 there are 95% of the girls (v large school) rolling their skirts.
A big majority of those are so short that you can see bum cheeks. Peer pressure to fit in with popular girls would be my guess.

I’m in my thirties and my school had the same issue back then - I would never have been allowed out with my ass nearly hanging out though!

my sons school and the school my daughter is starting in September now have a pleated skirt only rule so they can’t be rolled up! But they seem to get pulled up to look short anyway!

It doesn't look fantastic though.....

Its asking you as the parent to explain to your own child why 'it's not a good idea'.
This gives you complete liberty to explain to your child anything from "It's too short to be appropriate for the occasion according to social norms" to "I think its looks fantastic Darling, did the same myself, your body your choice but the school are stuffy old bores and its not a good idea to do something that gets you told off".

It's seen as empowering for women to show off their underwear, flash their skins. But shout "oh perv. Don't look" if anyone complains.

I know my dd wore shorts under hers, still does when she goes out

They have, me and my DDs included. But there’s a line I don’t think should be crossed in terms of being able to see bum cheeks or knickers

Agree with the school too.

I don’t want to see underwear and bum cheeks. We do unfortunately see it a lot around here as the girls roll them so high.

I’m a straight female and I feel super uncomfortable when I see a lot of the local high school girls with their arse showing.

Only difference is boys don't come in revealing themselves but girls have rolled their skirts up since time began...

The reasons why they are asked to keep their skirts to a moderate length is irrelevant. It's the rule and that's that! Boys wouldn't be allowed to come in with shirts unbuttoned to the waist, or wearing their flies undone to show their pants. The reasons are all the same. It's not because the opposite sex might lose control of themselves, it's about looking respectable and modest. Same rules for boys and girls. End of!

challenge the school’s wording

Of all things you could “challenge”, you are thinking of challenging the school’s perfectly appropriately worded newsletter encouraging parents to communicate with their children about this issue in a way that works for them.

Sometimes you read an OP and you just know how they come across in RL. This OP being one.

Girls roll their skirts after they've left the sight of their parents, which is precisely why either:

a) All teachers need to enforce the rules strictly - departure from dress code means an immediate detention - with a strict female teacher so the girls don't put it down to a male teacher being predatory and weird. Same rule for trousers hanging down. Basically, regardless of your gender or clothes, if you expose or almost expose your underwear (including darker part of tights), you get a detention.

Or

b) trousers only. Seriously, why do we have skirts at all in this day and age? They are completely impractical and unnecessary. None of the girls are wearing skirts at the weekend. This would take away the peer pressure completely. Instead of a logo'd skirt, they could have standard issue tailored trousers (like they wear in air cadets) with standard belt. For everyone. Isn't that the point of a uniform anyway? That then also removes all the angst about gender as all uniform is gender neutral. The only difference between boys and girls trousers would be the tailoring to accommodate whatever body parts they've got. The difference in the tailoring wouldn't be discernible to a teenager.

I sent my eldest girl into school in a regulation length skirt and she got ribbed mercilessly for it. She's a strong character and very feminist and the ribbing made her more obstinate about refusing to roll it up (much). She is very tall so the skirts weren't super long on her anyway. She noticed teachers (particularly PE teachers) excusing girls who had deliberately altered their skirts to be shorter, saying "their legs were so long, it wasn't their fault", when those girls were much shorter than she was. Some teachers (particularly PE teachers) were actively encouraging the peer pressure.

When it came to sending my youngest in, the mothers of the other girls in her primary class made no secret that they were planning to spend the summer deliberately hemming their 11yr old girls' skirts so they would be substantially shorter than regulation - so they had a chance at being popular. It was insane. As a result I bought my daughter a regulation length skirt and my eldest daughter coached her on rolling it just the right amount to not be a social pariah. It is now getting shorter by the year in her attempts to fit in.

What chance have girls got when some parents are actively encouraging it, and the school don't enforce the rules (apart from 3 days in September)!

School should either enforce the rules or change the rules so they don't have to!