to be annoyed that there will be a trousers uniform only at dc's secondary school from next year?

[bigbuttons]

DD ( dc number5) starts secondary in September. All her older sibs have gone/ are at the school. Her 2 older sisters are in years 8 and 10. Up until now the uniform has been, for girls, a blazer, skirt or trousers, white shirt and optional tie.
We got an email this week saying that after extensive consultation( I would like to know with whom because parents were not asked to my knowledge) the uniform for new year 7's would be 'gender neutral'. Both sexes will wear exactly the same uniform i.e new school jumper, no blazer, smart grey or black trousers, no skirts and all to wear a tie. Pupils currently at the school can continue with the current uniform but change of they wish.
There has been 'issue' with girls rolling their skirts up to basically just below their backsides and members of the public/parents have been complaining about this. The new trousers only uniform will help with issues of 'decency' it says.
Year 6 dd is horrified, she has never worn trousers in her life and quite frankly is not a good shape for them anyway, - leggings yes, buttoned trousers, no, although I have never said this to her of course. She is short and stocky, always has been.
I know many women who feel very uncomfortable wearing trousers because they don't like their legs/shape and always wear dresses and skirts.

What this this gender neutral crap?
I support both sexes wearing ties and I liked the blazer so am sad it has gone.

I think the girls should be able to wear skirts and am confused about the whole 'indecent' issue. If a girl wears a short skirt it's surely not her fault if people find it 'indecent'? It feels like very little has progressed for girls since I was at school. So, they now all have to look like boys?

I would be interested to hear people's views on this.

Perfect..hope more schools do the same

If it's ok to restrict boys to trousers only, it's fine to do so for girls. I'm sure if their vulvas become unhealthy it wont be due to trousers.

can I just point out that permission to wear something is not the same as obligation. In england wales and ireland, trousers are the male norm, and skirts are the female norm. If we must have both boys and girls wearing one or the other, why shouldn't we make boys wear skirts? or culottes, as I said upthread, to avoid the rolling up issue. WHY THE FUCK NOT? fuck the patriarchy, why can't we do something differently for fucking once. This is giving me a headache, literally. I'm sick of it.

Boys' school trousers are cut pretty shapeless and baggy. An overweight girl would find school trousers more figure-hugging because of the cut? But maybe I'm talking nonsense seeing as how I've not had to buy school trousers for girls before, only for my sons.

School uniform is meant to be practical, economical and not get in the way.

There are many jobs this kid may end up doing where it will be trousers or the sack. So no time like the present to learn that they are just clothes and she looks fine in them. If she is short and stocky she will look like that however she is dressed - clothes make no difference despite the stupidity you read in fashion mags.

And how she looks is irrelevant - life lesson one. Life lesson two is that no one wants to see knickers, and as lots of silly little girls keep rolling up their skirts, this will stop them.

You wouldn't have to buy boys trousers for your daughter though.... you'd bu girls cut trousers

I agree with OP, if you are short and stocky, trousers quite unflattering, and more revealing than a skirt, particularly of hefty thighs, bums and tums.And even more so with a school jumper and tie, and no blazer "protection".
i would have felt very strongly about this as a year 7, and would have not considered a school where trousers were mandatory. and for this to be introduced after applications have been made and offers accepted is really unreasonable.
The consutatation was clearly not widespread if neither you nor your children already at the school knew about it.I would be protesting big style.

I don't think girls uniform trousers have to be "figure hugging" any more than skirts have to be arse skimming.

"How ironic. This was exactly the argument used by my old head as to why it was 'disgusting' to allow girls to wear trousers"

So you of all people should understand why taking away girl's choices is a bad idea.

Erm no they're not. I mean, I'm sure you could find some that are, if you tried, but it's not the norm. And an overweight boy will have just as much trouble finding something flattering as a girl.

In the meantime, just try imagining a world where boys and men wear skirts over their underpants, so that anyone can aim a phone or camera and take a photo without their knowledge and post it on the internet. What do you think would happen?
I think boys would stop wearing skirts pretty quickly, and jump straight back into their trousers.

Or ... not, because women don't sexually molest men at nearly the same rate as men molest women.
There wouldn't be many girls taking upskirts photos of boys, and even fewer who'd applaud such pictures being posted on the internet.
There might be a few boys bullying each other by this, but most probably wouldn't dare for fear of looking gay.
I cannot really imagine there'd be nearly as much of a problem with upskirts photos if men and boys wore skirts and women and girls wore trousers.

According to rumours, Scotsmen wear nothing under the kilt, and they still don't seem to have much of a problem with sexual harrassment. At least I've never read about it being a problem.

I'm all for it.

If the girls wanted choice they should have listened when they were no doubt repeatedly told about the length of their skirt. It is shocking the way the high school girls walk about here. It's not just skirts too short it's knickers on show. Trousers eliminates the problem.

To the earlier poster whi said tbey have never seen a girl in school uniform with a skirt very short - try following a group of girls up the stairs at a school

We have recently brought in the pleated skirt and they still roll the waistband.

IT is amazing that there is still such a high level of prudery/ old fashioned thinking when it comes to the female body.
How is it awful/ shocking to see girls in short skirts? What is wrong with their bodies that makes people react in that way? That's a serious question .
I wouldn't have considered myself a feminist, especially not when faced with the section on here, but the lack of choice and the attitude of some posters towards girls' flesh being exposed is seriously making me rethink. I thought we had come along way since my childhood but in many ways attitudes are just as stuck as they ever were.

I'm not prudish but seeing the arses of children isn't something I consider to be socially acceptable.

"I wouldn't have considered myself a feminist, especially not when faced with the section on here"

I can't imagine why you don't consider yourself a feminist!

I think you can be a feminist without wishing to see other people's underwear or their arse.

I'm definitely not prudish but as empire stayed I really don't go to work and expect to see the knickers/arses (especially those wearing thongs shudder) of teenage girls

I'm not prudish but seeing the arses of children isn't something I consider to be socially acceptable.

How on earth do you cope at the swimming pool? Do they have to wave smelling salts under your nose to bring you round?

The school need to address the issue of girls not wearing the correct uniform and boys taking "up skirt" pictures. An they can do this without taking a legitimate choice away from girls.

I think it's a great idea. Trousers are so much more practical and as pps have said it's not a fashion parade. I wish my dd could wear trousers!

Tie for school is unnecessary imo, if I was setting uniforms, but that's just my opinion.

I hope there's a shorts and lightweight shirt option for summer though!

BR isn't feminism about equality? How is such focus on what girls wear and the length of their skirts equality?

I would even dip a toe into the fem boards but in all honesty I can't understand most of what is being said

How on earth do you cope at the swimming pool? Do they have to wave smelling salts under your nose to bring you round? oh get a grip. We are talking about young teens walking about with their arses on show. It's no a feminist argument it's basic fucking decency for their clothes to cover their underwear at least.

Also it always seems unfair to me that boys have to wear ties all summer.

The school's issue is with skirts being rolled up, so why would they then request that everyone wears skirts?

Girls and boys and women and men wear trousers so they are gender neutral/unisex/uniform.