Girls told to wear longer skirts at school because the boys are distracted and male teachers feel uncomfortable.

[Exercisejunkieforlife]

My DD is 15, yesterday all the girls were kept behind in assembly and told they must wear skirts from the official uniform shop.
I have no problem with this as this is where we get DDs skirts, my problem is with the reasons given.

They were told that it distracts the boys when the girls walk up the stairs and makes the male teachers feel uncomfortable.

AIBU to think that the girls should not have to modify their behaviour / what they wear so the 'boys' don't look up their skirts and that the male teachers are responsible for their own feelings. ?

If a person cannot control themselves sexually around teenagers, flashing knickers is a red herring.

It's based on a rather atavistic idea of exposed flesh as the prime stimulant.

I think the school is right to ask that girls don't wear skirts that are too short but not for the reasons given.
They should be asked to wear a decent length skirt appropriate to being in school.

I am here just trying to catch up.

To be clear DD wears trousers but also has the skirt, when she wears her skirt she rolls it up to just above the knee.
DD is not interested in boys, she has a girlfriend so she is NOT being provocative at all.

Some girls roll their skirts up, however i have never seen an arse skimming skirt when I drop her off, just ones mid thigh.

I do agree that they should wear their skirts as per uniform policy all pupils not just the girls and this is what should have been said at the time.

I will go into the school and confirm what was said before I say anything else to them.

NancyWake:

No, you said you found it concerning that I work in a school. You can think that if you like. But I think it is a horrible insinuation. I am doing my best to explain my thinking when we both know there is a difference between what I would do with a professional safeguarding hat on, and any private feelings of sympathy I might have towards someone who was fired because of a situation like this, particularly if the uniform policy was shoddy or not enforced.

based on a rather atavistic idea of exposed flesh as the prime stimulant.

What do you mean, exactly?

The talk is only about female clothing because it's the girls, who wear incredibly short skirts. Not boys. Retail outlets provide school skirts in mini skirt versions but boys school trousers don't come in skin tight versions, which would be inappropriate for school as they would show an outline. But still, it's an outline, not actual genitalia, which is displayed in some instances. Personally as a middle aged heterosexual female, I would feel very uncomfortable teaching girls with knickers or more on display. Let alone if I were a man.

The school already has a uniform policy that skirts must be knee length. Were the children abiding by the rules, there would have been no reason to talk to them. So why on earth is this some kind of victim blaming? The only victim would be a teacher accused of ogling at a girl, when in fact they're just going about their business and have a girls private area thrust in their line of vision. They are the ones, whose career could be ended.

As for the boys. I went to a rough school. There was lots of groping of girls genitalia, boobs and voyeurism from the boys. Skirts showing too much would have exacerbated this. The school is hopefully preventing such behaviour and as part of this measure is also informing the girls not to make themselves a target of the small minority of boys, who may be tempted to grab their crotch.

This is a scholastic environment, not a night club.

OvariesBeforeBrovaries

I wouldn't be at all surprised if your gay brother is a little further along the slow evolution process rather than against the "laws of nature". I also wouldn't be surprised if over a period of time everyone will become asexual and reproducing in Petri dishes.

itsmine:

Fair enough. But that's not exactly an answer. It's hardly unusual for boys to feign disinterest in the opposite sex in front of their mums!

itsmine

Your dh works in an operating theatre. Seeing naked bodies is part of his job, is in a clinical environment and to be expected. Hardly the same thing as a teacher, who doesn't expect to see flashes of arse, pubes and fanjo.

No, you said you found it concerning that I work in a school

Oh that. Yes indeed I do. Not because I'm concerned that your private sympathies would impact on your professional safeguarding. Simply because you're rather inarticulate and have some very strange ideas.

When I was-15, I mainly rolled up my skirt because I didn't want to look a frump in comparison to other girls who did it - and yes, I didn't want to look like frump or less attractive to boys either. When lorry drivers etc used to honk horns or whatever, I knew full well why they were doing it. To pretend I was unaware of the impact of certain clothing, even at that age, I would have to have been stupid or a liar. It's about pushing boundaries yes, but why are the boundaries being pushed in that particular way, as opposed to a fashion for wearing coloured socks to school or something? Women are not mindless victims who have no awareness about these things and it's riduculous to suggest they should be able to wear whatever they want with no reaction from men, or the world in general. Men don't come to work in shorts either.

Mummyoflittledragon:

Thank you - exactly what I wanted to say but I couldn't quite word it!

itsmine:

But your 'adult male' sons could perfectly legally wed one of those 16 year olds!

Still no answer?

It actually wouldn't bother me in the slightest if a male teacher found his female students attractive and had rude thoughts about them. It would bother me only if he didn't control them completely, or thought they were anyone's issue to manage but his.

Gah. I meant if he didn't control his impulses completely, not the pupils. Brain fart.

itsmine:

So are we saying erections are voluntary? First I have heard of it.

I'm absolutely not saying men go through life getting stiffies and it is never inappropriate. Of course it is. But it isn't voluntary.

The talk is only about female clothing because it's the girls, who wear incredibly short skirts. Not boys.

Not it's not. Boys wear skinny jeans, they wear the baggy falling down jeans showing their Calvins. They wear PE kit.

The difference is simply that women are held responsible for modifying their behaviour and clothing in order to manage male sexual response; but the same is not true the other way.

NancyWake:

Again, I think you're just being quite rude. I am done responding to you.

Seeing naked bodies is part of his job, is in a clinical environment and to be expected. Hardly the same thing as a teacher, who doesn't expect to see flashes of arse, pubes and fanjo.

As has already been said: teachers need to be able to cope with flashes of body parts because it will happen.

Boys wear skinny jeans, they wear the baggy falling down jeans showing their Calvins

At school?