...to think that school uniforms are rubbish and sexist?

[Annahmolly]

Just saw a lovely little girl in Starbucks with her mother. She was around 12 and sitting on an armchair, pulling her legs up to get comfortable. The ridiculously short, flimsy piece of material posing as a skirt rode up so high that her legs were almost uncovered. This is in March - most other people in there were in winter clothes. The silly knee-socks hardly made things much better, covering only half the leg. Surely thick, black tights would be much better, if schools absolutely must make girls wear skirts? It seems as though uniform regulations require girls to look "cute" and "feminine" at the expense of feeling warm and comfortable. The shoes are silly too - not appropriate for cold and wet weather, and neither girls nor boys ever seem to be wearing proper winter coats with their uniforms. What's with that?

Excuse my ignorance on this, but I did not grow up in Britain, so I don't know why these rules exist. I dread sending my daughter to school freezing cold just because some school regulations dictate that she has to show off her legs in a stupid little flimsy skirt. It restricts movement and is, in my opinion, sexist.

The girl would have been perfectly free to wear tights if she wished. And most schools have a minimum knee-length requirement for skirts.

yanbu. although at the dc's school they girls can wear trousers and skirts all year round. I would avoid a school with an outdated skirt policy.

Most schools also allow the wearing of trousers nowadays (we weren't, sadly, 20 years ago).

It is sexist. But I doubt the school require the skirt that short and she probably has that short out of choice, same with the knee high socks instead of tights.

No, usually a skirt is a choice.

In all the schools I know off girls can wear trousers. We wore skirts and rolled them up shorted after leaving the house no matter the weather.

Uniform usually is nothing to with sexism but choice.

I have yet to see a school that specifies 'a flimsy little skirt, quite the opposite in fact. Also girls have the option of trousers in many, many schools these days.

Perhaps take it up with the parent next time? If you are sure it concerns you, that is.

I can only assume that you don't have a teenager :o

A lot of schools now allow girls to wear trousers. At 12 if the skirts too short it is usually the DD trying to be "cool" and fashionable and not any school rules.

YABU. Only the schools which ban trousers/shorts for girls are sexist, and there don't seem to be that many of them. Although in my opinion there shouldn't be any.

No doubt the mother of that girl would much rather she wore tights, or a longer skirt, or trousers, but I'm betting the girl has her own ideas.

My uniform was a short sleeved shirt, a tie that was hung low and tiny but wide, tight skirt rolled up or tight trousers and with ballet shoes or boots.

I never wore the jumper and a coat? Do teens even know what a coat is?!

It is sexist.

Yes, it is. Girls get the choice of skirts or trousers but boys have to wear long trousers even in hot weather. Totally sexist.

yabu you have absolutely no idea what her school's uniform policy is and are making a snap judgement based on a kid in a coffee shop.

Highly likely that the skirt, the length and lack of tights were all choices made by the girl wearing it.

Never heard of a school in which trousers were not an option for the girls.

They are really horrible.

I saw all the children at dcs high school going to school on a non-uniform day. They were really in a uniform: all in hoodies and jeans, boys and girls, and looked so much nicer and appropriately dressed as young people, instead of the weird polyester-fest and tiny skirts that are accepted as uniform.

YABU.

That one pupil chooses an excessive very short skirt with socks, plus flimsy shoes (rather than a normal length skirt, tights (or trousers) and adequate shoes) is not an indictment of the entire concept of school uniform.

Getting teens to wear coats, even in foul weather, is a whole separate question (and again one unrelated to the actual uniform policy).

School uniform is waaay less sexist than what many teen girls would impose on themselves given half a chance.

I don't think uniforms are sexist, but they are a bit ridiculous looking, especially in primary school.

When my sons were in senior school the girls weren't allowed to wear skirts. The uniform was virtually unisex - trousers ,shirt/blouse, tie ,blazer for all pupils. Something I approved of, personally.
My daughter has always worn trousers for school, right from reception class although she did wear a summer dress when she was little.
I wouldn't send my daughter to a school that banned trousers for girls. She never wears skirts or dresses at all, unless it's quite hot.

Back in the late 70s/early 80s, I had to wear thin (nude) 20 denier tights even in the snow. And then outdoor sports in the freezing cold in a tiny weeny skirt and socks. My legs used to go blue. It was horrendous. But i did have a warm and long regulation coat.
My dds are allowed skirts or trousers but one will only wear skirts, so I buy wool tights in the winter, and slips for an extra layer. My big bugbear with uniform is that it is a sea of polyester. Which wears really badly and is very environmently unfriendly, and is then coated with toxic anti stain coatings. I want my dds in natural fibres, and that is possible at primary but once they go to the high school it will be inflammable acrylic jumpers...ugggh.

Some schools do still ban trousers for girls and that is sexist. That being said even schools that insist on a skirt mandate knee length or longer so the shortness was probably her idea.

The reason teens don't wear coats is that in lots of schools there is nowhere to put them, so they have to carry them around all day.

Most schools allow a choice of skirt or trousers.

Some children find dark, woolly tights too hot once the weather warms up.

Some children dislike trousers for several reasons. Even my non girly-girl DD disliked trousers in primary as they weren't always comfy enough when sitting on the carpet, especially when they could ride down at the back while sat on the floor.

One BIG issue is the fact that it's a bloody nightmare to find skirts that are longer than mid-thigh for uniform, especially as the girls get taller and bigger.

Yabu. It's rare you'll find a school that doesn't allow trousers, so it's unlikely to be down to that. A tiny skirt in this weather, even for a 12 year old, is more likely due to what is the "norm" in her school and her friends. My cousin is 13 and wouldn't dream of wearing anything other than a skirt, even on the coldest day of the year.