Letter re banning school skirts

[spottedinthewilds]

Has anyone here written a letter to their school regarding banning of school skirts?

Our school have not yet banned school skirts that appear to be disguising this ban by offering different school uniform options. Most of which do not have a skirt option.

I have quite strong feelings against this as I feel that as a school educating young people they should be concentrating on educating their pupils about misogyny and the reasons why they feel school skirt should be banned.

Without wishing to dive into a trans debate, I feel that the trans issue is already eroding women's rights and feel that this is just another step in the wrong direction.

I agree that I am not the best person to word this letter well and wondered whether anyone here has written a similar letter to their school regarding this issue.

If so, would you be kind enough to share all or part of it with me so that I can put together something that I feel makes my point?

Just get rid of uniforms altogether. Most kids wear practical clothes by choice outside of school. The short skirt thing is just rebelling against uniform rules.

And whilst girls should never be assaulted or made to feel bad about their clothing choices, as someone who volunteers in a school I don't want to see bum cheeks or worse when someone is wearing skimpy knickers and ankle socks. Their clothing needs to be practical to participate in drama workshops and other physical things that do t require PE kit. Boys can wear shorts at one school here, I wouldn't want them to be wearing skin tight skimpy shorts either.

But they don't care.

A girl in my class was attacked on the beach one night while walking her dog. They did a talk, nothing changed.

Another girl in my class was raped by a classmate's brother. The victim was bullied out.

Schoolgirls are vicious and they don't care. Better to just make them wear trousers.

I would have absolutely hated having to wear trousers, @BarbaraHoward.

Your point about ultra short skirts is fair enough, but is it fair to penalise the girls who want to wear skirts?

"@spottedinthewilds
It think girls should have a choice as to whether they can wear skirts or trousers.

Why would you think that they shouldn't?"

Because it's a school uniform and by definition a uniform is where everyone wears the same thing (albeit adjusted for shape and size).

If you can have a choice about what you wear then why restrict it to skirts and surely boys should have the same choice about what to wear as well - or in short you get rid of a school uniform altogether.

Don’t you think that schools discuss issues like sexting, porn and Andrew Tate? They can only do so much when many parents give their children unrestricted internet access and social media.

Considering that sex education doesn’t happen until year 5 at school, educating them younger means starting in year 6. Considering some parents think that sex education and talk about puberty in year 5 is too early (my kids knew well before year 5), when would you start?

I didn't say anything about ultra short skirts, or indeed anything about length at all.

I hated wearing a skirt, they're impractical things that make activities like cycling to school more difficult. A choice is good.

OP says there are choices, it's not particularly clear but it sounds like it's going out to a vote which is sensible.

Yes it is an opportunity - may I ask if you are the mother of teenage boys ? Teenage boys dont have to be perverts or misogynists to get embarrassed and feel awkward.

@BarbaraHoward - I am so sorry - you are right, you didn't mention ultra short skirts - another poster did, and my foggy brain conflated the two posts. My apologies.

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius why would you have hated wearing trousers?

Schoolgirls are vicious and they don't care

This is true, some of the things I've seen in school and my DDs have experienced are shocking.

My old school changed the uniform to a sweatshirt and jeans and it was brilliant. Plenty of time to dress in skirts after if they want.

No worries

Short skirt in a school environment, no. Would you go to work in a normal office job wearing a very short skirt? No. Why? Because it is not appropriate for the environment. It's qui simple. It's about decency.
In their own time anyone can wear what they want. If they can't understand what appropriate means, there's no hope for them. Let them learn through failure or embarrassment.

I think girls should have the option of skirt or trousers if it is a school uniform.
Most teenage girls will roll up the skirt where they can get away with it. Meh. As long as they don't do that to an extreme at school, I don't see a problem with it. Just above the knee would be sensible but we're talking about teenage girls so it's always going to be shorter than that. I know because I was a teenager once.

I think there is scope to do away with uniforms after the age of 12 or so.

When I have driven past schools at the end of the day I have seen the groups of girls in uniform skirts mid thigh, and as far as I could tell, not rolled up, no bulge at the waist. A far cry from my school skirt, just short of the knee. These girls look like St Trinians 6th. Who designed these uniforms anyway? I have an opinion on this. And it ain't the needlework teachers.

I don't really agree with teaching them about adult stuff. Let them be kids.
You can't really teach this stuff anyway. You can only model good behaviour. And isolate them away from their phones.

As for getting rid of skirts, I can completely see the logic in it from a practical point of view. But the message should be "teachers are sick of policing your skirts length" as opposed to "girls/womens wear is bad"

As a teacher I'm often hugely uncomfortable at the shortness of the girls' skirts.
I do not want to see their knickers!! But when walking up the stairs it's unavoidable.

Also they can not get fully involved in the classroom as anything that requires then to raise their arms they can't for fear of showing their bum!

Because I don't want unexpected flashes of their arse, knickers or sanitary towel
when I'm waiting in the car park for my son to come out of school, which all too often happens because the skirts are rolled up to crotch length.

If a boy dresses in a way which deliberately exposes his arse to others at school, it's dealt with and he's punished for being inappropriate. If girls do it, the people who get flashed are told it's their fault for looking in the girl's direction when she walks past with her knickers clearly on show.

This is on girls, I'm afraid. If they won't wear a skirt inappropriately, then they can't wear them.

I personally think it's nothing to do with the potential of being sexually harassed while wearing a skirt that shows your arse - it's just that it's incredibly unflattering.
I don't think skirts that short suit anyone. Whether it's school, office or nightclub - it looks ridiculous full stop.

I agree they shouldn't be banned.
I disagree with uniforms in general but if they have to be there then I think this is wrong. To me it implies that the traditionally male option is the default and the traditionally feminine option is inappropriate and less than.
I also think it'll make some feel incredibly self conscious. It would for me as a teen. I had hips, thighs and q bum early and it was impossible to find trousers that were not uncomfortably tight in those areas unless they were multiple sizes too big in the waist. Skirts were easier to "hide" this in and I felt more comfortable.

But if your child did want to would you support them??

Nobody wants their child wearing a skirt that barely covers their bum. And as PP said the girls involved tend not to dress like this outside of school.

If an adult wants to dress in stupidly short skirt fine. Teens following peer pressure should be discouraged.

They don't need to be banned.
They just need to be an acceptable length.
There should be a 2 warning system. If you are told 2 times your skirt is inappropriate then you are given the opportunity to do something about it.
3rd time - loose the privilege of wearing one.
It's not exactly a complicated rule of wearing a skirt that actually covers your bottom.

You said in the OP they have not banned them though? Just that you think they might because they are offering more options ? Surely just relax and wait and see if it actually happens or not ?

Trousers are so much more practical and trousers for everyone would make things so much simpler.

My daughter hates skirts and dresses but ironically insists on wearing a school skirt (girls are allowed trousers) "because all the other girls wear them and I don't want to look like I'm in the boys uniform".

I completely agree that wearing a skirt of any length does not justify catcalling and assault. However I do not want to inadvertently see gussets and bum cheeks because skirts aren't being worn at an appropriate length. I'm not a pervert or a misogynist. I would not want to see male bum cheeks or underwear on display either.

They can't be trusted to wear skirts because they have them too short. The amount of girls I see walking along yanking their skirts down over their bottoms when they should just wear a longer one and have done with it. It looks ridiculous and you can see their knickers ffs.

Because I looked absolutely awful in them, @losingweightandgainingconfidence - I was a plump kid, and had zero confidence, plus I was already the target of bullies, and looking awful in trousers would just have given them another stick to beat me with.

I am much happier in skirts - always have been, always will be. I never wear trousers - occasionally leggings, under a knee length dress, but that's my limit.