Short school skirts

[Kteeb1]

AIBU to think the reason given to me for girls not wearing skirts at school is worrying? So just been called by the school. Apparently all parents have been because girls skirts are very short and it's against school policy. I can only assume the little tyke (13) is rolling her school skirt up because it's not short when she leaves the house and ill sort it when she gets in, but I am concerned with what the female teacher said to me. The reason why the girls skirts shouldn't be short is because male teachers and other boys may feel uncomfortable. Also out of school grounds the girls might be attacked. And young girls must learn to protect their dignity. I have no problem with a uniform and following it, but if male teachers are uncomfortable in seeing a 13 year old with a short skirt, should they really be teaching? And why are we saying what a person wears means they may be attacked. I did ask if any girls had been attacked and I didn't get an answer. I just think it's a really bad message that girls have to change what they wear for those reasons.

This one again.

Can we get one thing straight.

In relation to male teachers, the issue is NOT about men being unable to control themselves it is about males teachers being falsely accused.

My daughter is in sixth form, and was telling me yesterday that they get repeatedly told not to wear short skirts, because the male teachers see it as a distraction. Like a previous poster said, should they be in the profession then? I'm a teacher myself, and think this is bizarre. Mind, I hate to see horrendously short skirts. It does make me feel uneasy.

I've been considering writing a letter to the head of the trust I work for expressing my concerns and how uncomfortable it makes staff feel to see the bums and underwear of children.

Would anyone be up for helping me put it together or giving any suggestions towards it?

I'd like to specify that it shouldn't be about men what so ever

I'm also tempted to suggest they ask all staff to anonymously give their opinion on it (they often do this for other issues such as staff mental well-being)

@StoneofDestiny

Of course they are . It’s been the same for years . The girls do it for the attention of the boys . We used to have ours measured and straight home if they were too short . No option of trousers . I would have preferred trousers as a choice to be honest .

Save the short skirts for out of school hours .

What do you think to writing a standard letter we could send out to any secondary schools or trusts our kids go to or we work at?

I agree with PP that the main reason schools should be enforcing dress code is because it's unprofessional to have your bum flashing about in school. I have had male teachers ask me to mention it to girls before because it is more uncomfortable for them because it can come with accusations that they shouldn't have been looking so I think it does make male teachers more uncomfortable than female teachers in that way. I once helped at a camp where one girl had shorts so short you could see her sanitary pad hanging out. My main feeling was of sympathy for the girls since that is obviously phenomenally embarrassing for a young teen but I think its understandable a situation like that could be more uncomfortable for boys than other girls. I think its more of a problem when places suggest males may be distracted by the females than when they might be made uncomfortable.

We used to roll our skirts up when I was at school mid/ late seventies, but ours were long, so a couple of rolls we were still decent. If the skirts are short to start with then they become positively indecent.
I used to live near a secondary school and I’ve very often seen a girls bum cheeks just walking along the road.

This is not a battle anyone is going to win. Its been happening forever.
Short skirts are more fashionable and look less formal which I think is why they do it. Not for male attention.

@Ozanj

The girls who shorten their skirts do it to get male attention at all or any cost. It is most definitely for the boys so I would punish her by making her wear the trouser option.

My 12 yo definitely does it for male attention. NOT. Ffs. Have you listened to yourself? The girls do it to fit in. To rebel against what they consider to be a shitty uniform and because they want to all be the same.

I have a male colleague who was called a paedo for years because he called a girl out on her skirt and said that he didn't want to see her knickers. As a woman of a certain age I can say it with no retorts. Younger female teacher and male teachers get called many things when asking girls to unroll their skirts

@Branleuse of course it's a battle that can be won, there'll be plenty of backlash from the girls but that doesn't mean we give up on them and allow them to continue flashing their bums and underwear in public. We have a responsibility as adults to do what is best for children, women and girls have always been on a back foot to men and this is just one small part of it we have the power to change

[quote ProfPickles]@Branleuse of course it's a battle that can be won, there'll be plenty of backlash from the girls but that doesn't mean we give up on them and allow them to continue flashing their bums and underwear in public. We have a responsibility as adults to do what is best for children, women and girls have always been on a back foot to men and this is just one small part of it we have the power to change [/quote]
I think it is a great idea you have

The reason is not acceptable BUT there are indecently short skirts at the school I go into, and if my arse was hanging out of my clothes I'd expect to be called out on it by colleagues.

uniform should be policed by parents before they get to school

I pick my battles due to my level of health and very low energy levels. I prefer to be available to help my dd learn. I’m disabled and chronically ill…. So spoons. Dd rolls her skirt up and asks me if it’s too short. It is short. But not bum cheek showing short like some girls. Luckily she’s a bit of a prude. And she has Nike Pro shorts to wear underneath if she wants…

if male teachers are uncomfortable in seeing a 13 year old with a short skirt, should they really be teaching

It's better they're uncomfortable than having teachers who actively enjoy the sight teaching them, isn't it?

Whilst it is of course every male's responsibility to see to their own behaviour, I also agree with posters above stating it would be inappropriate for me to dress in short skirts at work, those children's teachers can't wear equally short skirts. Why are we not instead asking for girls uniforms to be equally as professional as boys' uniforms?

if male teachers are uncomfortable in seeing a 13 year old with a short skirt, should they really be teaching

Nobody is uncomfortable seeing a girl in a short skirt, knees aren’t the sexiest of things. However a student flashing their knickers or bum cheeks while you’re trying to teach is distracting.

@unsure33

Not all are - some are bought already micro mini length. You can see them walking down the road when the school shirt is tied up! There are tiny skirts being worn and tiny skirts being created.

I rolled my skirt up at school, but it pre dated the stretchy Lycra era, and was pleated so there was a limited to how much could actually roll without looking like you were wearing a life belt 😂

I don’t know. I don’t like saying things are modest or immodest either because it’s not to do with decency so much as appropriateness. Like, I don’t want my boss to come to work in a mankini. It’s not because I would find it distracting (as a heterosexual woman) or immodest (if it’s a weird word to use for a man it’s not the right word to use for a schoolgirl), it’s because it’s not appropriate. That’s all they need to say.

[quote ProfPickles]@Branleuse of course it's a battle that can be won, there'll be plenty of backlash from the girls but that doesn't mean we give up on them and allow them to continue flashing their bums and underwear in public. We have a responsibility as adults to do what is best for children, women and girls have always been on a back foot to men and this is just one small part of it we have the power to change [/quote]
OK good luck with that.

Will get flamed for this but I agree that the uniform policy should be enforced. For the record I absolutely do NOT condone the victim-blaming mentality of why very short skirts in schools are inappropriate, but here goes:
A) Schools have a right to enforce their uniform policy - just that.
B) Teeny skirts aren’t practical for walking, going up and down flights of stairs, floor-work, bending ect.
C) School in many ways is a precursor to the world of work and the general expectations of society as a whole. It’s important to learn to dress smartly and appropriately to respect the sensibilities of everyone. Very short skirts are simply not appropriate in a lot of situations, which is beside the point of men and boys ability to “control” themselves.

I just want to make it clear that I live right next to a secondary school. We are not talking about “short” skirts - in some cases they actually expose the lower part of the buttocks. Genuinely microscopic.

We've had this. School regulation kilts that only come in one length, bought from one provider. Girls made to stand in class for everyone to inspect the length of their skirts. Crap about men being uncomfortable. I thought it was just our school - rural backwater, rugby heavy school run by ageing PE teachers and resting on its decade old "outstanding" laurels.
Boys get away with an awful lot. Lip service given to mental well-being.
They always get the female teachers to phone home and run the assemblies too. Handmaidens to the patriarchy.
I've got a bank of emails OP.

@LittleGwyneth

They should be telling girls that skirts are a uniform length, and if they're not wearing them at the correct length, they're not wearing the uniform. Just the same as not being allowed to make your tie shorter.

They should not be telling girls that their uniform has anything to do with whether they are attacked or not, or that they are 'distracting' to anyone else. If their teachers aren't able to teach without looking at pupil's legs, I suggest they are in the wrong career.

I agree with this

It also annoys me that since they had to go to school in PE kit the uniform skorts are extremely short - crotch length - so I think it’s really inconsistent to say this is ok but other skirts are too short.
My dd doesn’t go by public transport but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with her travelling in her skort as I know she feels self conscious in it but it’s too warm for the tracksuit bottoms alternative

Surely, if the problem is so endemic, the solution is to change the uniform. Is there not an option to phase out skirts altogether?

@StoneofDestiny

Oh yes the pleated skirts forgot about those if you rolled them up they stuck out like a lamp shade .

Of course we had the risk of the cane or a blackboard rubber being thrown at us as well but we all had to adhere to the length of skirt rules r there would be consequences .

Therefore we did all fit in 🙂