AIBU to challenge the school’s wording about pupils rolling skirts up?

[GreenSalon]

Weekly newsletter today from DC’s secondary school contained a paragraph on uniform including the fact that there have been complaints from the public about “pupils who choose to wear skirts” rolling them up to wear them extremely short. It finishes with asking parents to speak to their children about why this is “not a good idea”.

Now, apart from the fact I assume that they must mean girls, is this not clearly implying that short skirts = making themselves vulnerable and if is, then if anything bad happens as a result it is their own fault? I thought we had moved beyond this kind of nonsense.

I only have boys at the school not girls but want to write to the head to point out how utterly sexist this is. DH agrees with me pov but thinks I shouldn’t write. AIBU?

Weird that this bothers you so much.

School here has the polo mint test .If the distance between the bottom of your skirt and your knee is higher than a tube of polo mints it has to be rolled down -(maybe they should be sponsored by Nestle .)

If you worked in a secondary school and see what I see, you'd know UABU.

Yeah, but a boy wearing a skirt is a whole other issue. The school means girls.

Don’t be bloody stupid OP! It’s a real issue…and the school is pointing this out ffs! The girls are flashing their arses and underwear…it’s utterly appalling and needs to stop!

I (primary school teacher) was driving to an appointment at around 3:30 today, past the local comp…I was genuinely appalled by the number of arses and knickers on display…from really young girls too, as well as the older girls. It’s insane that parents are not doing something to be honest. If one of my girls were walking round with her bum cheeks on display for all and sundry to perv at, I’d be mortified!

Recently had this conversation with my stepdaughter who’s 15.
Her mum had said.. It’s to short, I can see your bum cheeks.. This was met with, It’s my bum and if you don’t like it don’t look!
My explanation went down better.. I said unfortunately wearing short skirts/denim shorts will bring you attention and not just from boys at school, also fully grown men. For the time being you are a child, and we are just worried you will attract attention that could be dangerous and that you are too young to deal with.

Are you for real?

Its not a good idea because their underwear will show, and in the UK in polite society that's not acceptable!!!

Id expect the same messaging for boys wearing their trousers halfway down their arse with their pants on show, too!

I think they've phrased it about as neutrally as they could, they havent said anything about girls doing this inviting unwanted attention or distracting boys/men, just said its not a good idea.... Which its not, so that's true. How would you have liked them to phrase it, OP?

They are not implying that at all - what a ridiculous notion.

I remember there are a few posters who feign naivety and say "my daughter should wear whatever they want. It's just legs, fabric etc. if you don't like it. Don't look."

I simply do not understand why skirt wearers do it unless they WANT people to see their knickers.
Otherwise what is the point?

My dd said that if you don’t roll it up high you get the piss taken out of you and if you roll it to high you also get the piss taken tour of you

Nope. I have no issue with what your school has said. It's not sexist. In fact they have avoided being sexist by saying "people who choose to wear skirts".

It's simply to avoid the bum trend

My son's secondary school has completely avoided the issue by not including skirts in the uniform at all. All pupils wear trousers.

The wording is fine. How do other European countries handle this? Their teens tend to look fairly sensible?

I’m a mid 30s woman and I see a school girls knickers almost every day of my working life when I drive past the local school at start time. I’m not a danger to them, but I don’t want to see it, I shouldn’t be made to see it, and they should be taught basic consideration for other people. I’m almost sure it’s only a matter of time before I see way more following an underwear malfunction, and I genuinely don’t believe this kids want strangers seeing their knickers and potentially their genitals/buttocks. So maybe talk about it that way.

Catholic guilt

It finishes with asking parents to speak to their children about why this is “not a good idea”.

It sounds to me like a polite, euphemistic way of them stating the bleeding obvious. Would you prefer them to say "because people don't want to see your arse or your knickers - and you should have the basic dignity and self-respect to know this" ?

It’s insane parents are not doing anything

Im sure many will leave the house with longer skirts in the morning and roll them up as girls have done for many years

I used to be a teen girl.
In my day (80s/90s) it was considered embarrassing if someone saw your knickers beyond the age of 5.

I work in schools and a boy was telling me that walking round school is a mine field as he just doesn’t want to see it or be exposed to underwear on an hourly basis. He tries to avoid stairs as that’s the worst. It isn’t sexual, they just find seeing the underwear of anyone unpleasant. He said he finds himself trying to find anywhere safe to look as he doesn’t want to be accused of looking at what he can’t avoid seeing.

as a member of staff I honestly don’t think the girls realise quite how exposed they are and that it makes people uncomfortable likely because it’s private and not something that should be on show. One of the schools I work in are clamping down on uniform standard from September and banning “flares” which are leggings and skirts that are above the knee. The girls who choose the flares do so for comfort and are pretty annoyed.

What if she wants to wear a bikini to school?

"Oh no. She wouldn't. She'd be too cold"

Nonsense like this. Dress appropriately for school.