AIBU to think school skirt bans undermine choice rather than equality?

Until teenage girls dont believe miniskirt are appropriate for school (or work) there needs to be guidance in place.
I really dont want to get flashed by some teens knickers as they walk up the stairs.
If too many girls go for skirts that are too short, yes, trousers need to be the default.

The whole history of female attire is so complicated. Trying to solve the issue by banning the skirt doesn't work.

I agree women should be allowed to wear what they like but so much of it is designed for the male gaze. Then people say "no I do it for me, not for men" but what they enjoy wearing is stuff that is for the male gaze. Mens clothing is on the whole practical and they don't see the need to flash their arses. That's because men and boys are comfortable in their power.

If course biology and evolution have a lot to do with it too and like most things it's all about procreation. It's also about misogyny a lot of which has been internalised by women.

Having said all that I look terrible in most trousers and prefer skirts and dresses.

Bullshit do you have ‘hundreds’ of girls walking past your house showing underwear looking like prostitutes twice a day. A short skirt doesn’t mean you look like a sex worker, and these are still kids. It’s not ‘equality’ to over shame and exaggerate about young girls this way.

I dont think trousers are a man's item these days

I think men should embrace skirts..

I wear trousers most of the time, but I axtually find skirts easier to get to fit right and im more comfortable in them on my period and in the heat.

Teenage girls tend to try and display their crotch & butt cheeks constantly. No one wants to see this.

Girls constantly roll the skirts up. In the past schools would make girls kneel to check their skirt hit the floor, or a teacher would be going round with a ruler which you'd probably get hit on the hand with if the skirt wasnt the required length.

There were grumbles about this.

Schools brought in branded skirts/kilts that couldnt be rolled up and were matronly and unfashionable, not to mention expensive.

There were grumbles.

Schools required trousers.

People are still grumbling! No one wants to see anyones arses at school. Trousers are fine. If you dont like the sort of draconian discipline required for girls to wear their skirts at a smart, boring, unsexy length, trousers are the better option.

Can't make your money off forcing parents to buy the overpriced and very specific school authorised uniform if you did that.

It’s probably to keep me from looking at teenaged girls underwear. Which I’d be very grateful for, because outside my house at 8:30 and 3:30 looks more like a red light district than a housing estate as hundreds of girls walk past with their underwear on show.

I’m not much of a prude, and I’m all for expressing yourself - but I don’t want to see the knickers (and hopefully nothing more) when skirts are rolled up so high bums are on show. I often think the local school should ban skirts for the dignity of the girls, who from what I see of older women, would not be in a skirt that short after they turn 18 or 20.

You’ve stated the very good reasons for removing skirts from the uniform in your OP which far outweigh the ‚removal of choice‘ issue. Women have been wearing trousers for years, even in the workplace, so I would never interpret the ‚no skirt‘ policy as making girls dress like boys. Schools have had ties for years, which using your logic is even more like making girls dress like boys as it’s uncommon for women to wear ties. What’s the difference?
Most schools have jewellery and makeup rules which you could argue mainly affect and take choices away from girls but are also rules for good reason.

There are very valid reasons for not having skirts as part of the uniform and that’s good enough for me

Part of the problem is that we still continue to force gender on things like clothing, toys, films etc. Trousers are no more a boys item than trainers and tshirts. If anything, wearing trousers has historically been male privilege, boys have never had to worry about flashing their knickers in public due to a gust of wind, or struggling with self esteem about leg size/shape/hairiness.

Levelling the playing field by having all kids in the same trousers and jumper/blazer doesn’t take from girls, it prevents this and future generations from having to deal with the ridiculousness of a totally unsuitable item of clothing that’s forced onto them because of outdated attitudes.

You don’t see female paramedics, firefighters, even shop and supermarket workers, wearing skirts. They’re totally impractical for most activities. Girls and women have been disadvantaged due to the “feminine” clothing for decades (just look at sports people and the rules around their clothing!) and in schools the messaging around skirts always ends up teaching girls that what they wear is more important than what they do.
We finally start to overcome all this BS and people complain about it being erased. 🤦🏻‍♀️

It's also a bit 'hmm' on religious discrimination grounds...some Muslim, Orthodox Jewish, and Christian girls may feel uncomfortable in trousers.

Sure people could say not to apply to that school them but you don't always get your first choice of school.

This.

Absolutely agree there should be a choice, especially in summer when it's warm. I have 1 DD who would prefer to wear trousers and 1 would prefer skirts.

As a pp said, if its to stop boys upskirting, it's just another example females having the consequences for males poor behaviour, which is appalling.

I think we are many decades away from trousers being men's clothes. They are a unisex garment worn by women for style, comfort and practicality, and the point when they became so was actually significant for our equality.
I think its worse in equality terms to designate skirts as for girls. They are rarely a more practical choice over trousers and if girls have the choice to wear something for aesthetics over practicality then the choice should be open to boys too. Otherwise we are saying that the aesthetics of appearance are a girl thing.
The school has chosen to remove the choice for all, so I see no inequality here.

My DDs went to a girls school and they wore skirts. No trousers available and they hated the idea of ill fitting trousers! Yes, it takes away their choice and school at 11 is not the office. It does reinforce that they need to look like men. Why should they not wear skirts because of leering boys? Teach the boys! Getting longer skirts is one answer but I hate girls being pushed into trousers if they would rather not.

I think it just keeps things easier to manage for the school. There is a big problem with girls rolling up their skirts to inappropriate lengths, this takes time to police, so keeping it uniformed "excuse the pun" is more time effective.

Also, I've heard a lot of mums are making their girls wear shorts under their skirts for school - So in this case, trousers seem more sensible.

Why do they need this choice? The boys don’t have that choice so it’s not making women more equal. It’s just making the uniform the same for everyone. And you’ve still not said what schools are doing this?

I just thank the gods I'm going to be seeing the knickers of fewer schoolgirls as this policy spreads. Bring it on!

I don't see any females wearing skirts as short as the schoolgirls do unless they are school skirts, even the schoolgirls themselves. It's only the school skirt they feel the need to roll right up until their bum is on view, why is that?

There’s no real reason to wear a skirt. It isn’t more practical (the opposite really) and I’d argue it also isn’t more comfortable than trousers. Teens have always and will always roll the skirts up so teachers constantly have to fight it which must get annoying. At my DD’s school the skirts are measured on the way in so most girls now wear trousers.

My secondary school got rid of uniforms while I was in 2nd year. Not a single girl wore a skirt to school after that.
Unfortunately a change of head teacher years later returned the uniform but girls were always given trousers as a uniform option. They of course also now have the arse cheeks issue.

It’s much easier for schools just to ban skirts rather than than have endless arguments with girls over length of skirts. I think it’s fair enough. They have enough issues to deal with, why not pick their battles.

How many of them are women in skirts? Not a single one @BadBadCat nothing to do with being more like men.

Surely the whole point of uniform is to undermine choice? I really disagree with school uniforms, most other countries (USA, Canada, most of Western Europe and Scandinavia) seem to manage just fine without it.

All the time, money and energy that's wasted on school uniforms and most of them still look awful

Can't we just teach them to dress appropriately with a bit of personality like most kids in Europe?