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?

Same here. There seem to be so many parents - mothers especially - who angrily defend their teenage daughters' right to flash their pants and bits in public all day; and if anybody says that it isn't a good thing, they become the target of vitriolic complaints.

There's definitely something amiss in being determined to send your DD to school with her private areas on show - and then to accuse the people who say they don't want to see it as somehow being perverts.

I wonder if some of these parents are not quite as suitable and innocent as they would like people to assume. If I were the school, I'd be contacting the parents of the most blatant offenders and asking them if they want to work with us on remedying a clear safeguarding concern, or otherwise whether it should be taken further, with the child's background and home circumstances looked into more closely.

Dress appropriately for school - how hard is that?

Interestingly the two on this thread that have vociferously fought that it’s these girls RIGHT to dress however the HELL they want…..

well! @Gloriia has since said her children never broke any uniform rule

and @JHound is talking entirely theoretically about what she would and wouldn’t do given clarifies no children anyway.

and indeed @GreenSalon doesn’t have daughters.

So… I want to hear someone say

“yeah MY daughter wears one of these ass exposing length skirts and I LOVE it and she’s brilliant and I think it’s fantastic!”

Still head scratching!

I don’t agree with any wording that hints that any actions aimed at girls are their fault but, equally, I do hope you’re referring to the secondary my daughter is about to start at in September.

The school performs well and is very popular because of that which is why I’m shocked the school allow the girls to roll their skirts up so high. It verges on obscene in some cases and i don’t want my daughter feeling under pressure to do the same thing.

Why are people saying things like "why does the school allow it" when the point is it's frequently going to and from school when the skirts are rolled up - not while at school.
At school they get told to unroll their skirts and wear them properly.
But out in the street before and after school - what can the school do? Nothing.
It would be interesting what teenage girls would be dressed in travelling to and from school if they were required to only change into their uniform when they got to school (like some jobs with uniforms do).

Who in their right mind wants to walk around the streets and show everyone their bare butt or their pants?

PPs have said it happens at school as well. Definitely not appropriate. Just sanction them and give them detentions.

At school that can be done.
But out of school....what can schools do?
Nothing.

They can police behaviour outside of school if caught. I know lads who got in trouble for messing about in public to transport. This is something else, but definitely still not appropriate.

Are they exposed to buttocks? If so then that’s a flashing incident and it should be reported. The gender of the pupils being flashed is irrelevant.

Primates advertising sexual readiness?

I appreciate it's not every teenager but there is no good reason to dress like this.

If the girls in question are pulling up their skirts only on the way home, I wonder if they pull them down before they arrive home?

I echo Turntheswitch's request for a parent with actual experience of their daughter dressing like this - are they happy to show the bare bottoms at home?

I can't imagine they do - surely even the most liberal parent would correct them!

Do you have any skin in the game here @JHound ? Or are you just sticking up on mumsnet for the rights of schoolgirls generally to wear whatever they like whenever they like?

Actually “humans” to wear whatever they like when they like?

Who do they want to attract on the streets?

This is the problem - they are unaware, I guess, of the semiology of their clothing choices. And that's where parents and other adults need to advise them. We all know that behaviour (in this case, clothing) is communication - we're always being told that in education. So what are the girls communicating here? I'm sure most of them just want to impress their peers - other girls, usually, but they are inevitably very naive.

I honestly don't think they intend to give the signals that others will pick up from their clothing.

'Ass exposing skirts' 'Teenage girls are like primates flashing', 'what are the girls communicating??'.

I can't get over the absolute mockery of young girls on here.

They aren't 'communicating anything' they are just showing off to their peers. They certainly arent asking for anything if that is what a pp means with the faux innocent 'but what are they trying to tell us' questioning.

Some men on the other hand with their <checks notes> 'uncomfortable feelings' are communicating exactly what is on their creepy minds.

'Primates advertising sexual readiness?'

I think it’s internalized misogyny that theyfeel the need to do this.
I am a feminist and women should wear and do as they please.but when

a) nearly all the girls around the country are doing exactly same thing it’s not truly freedom of expression is it

b) when I have to look away on the street because I can see girls underwear or gussets of tights it’s not great.

c) boys don’t over sexualize their uniform do they, there’s an expectation right there. only on girls

personally I think they should do away with uniform and introduced no logo jeans and t shirts and hoodies of their choice both girls and boys

It is the literal truth. We are a primate species and teenagers who have come to maturity are signalling this by wanting to dress like the adults they see in media. Otherwise we would have 9 year olds trying to show off their bums, which we don't, thank goodness.

Only girls do this though

I think they are fully aware of wheat they are doing and the impact of it.
To think otherwise is naive!

Oh dear. Searching my previous posts to try for a gotcha.

This is not the same as all the awful language used on here about 'sweaty arse cheeks' and comparing young girls to primates. My 'daft and silly' not in the same ball park sneery wise. 10/10 for effort though that was a good few months ago wasn't it?

Do you gave a dryrobe perchance and feeling a bit sensitive?

Maybe the young girls who show their arses in a school uniform should be body shamed.
It might teach them to respect their own bodies more rather than give every bystander a free show...most of whom don't want to see it anyway.